Which to use
“clump” is a noun and “clumsy” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,110
- “clump” frequency rank
- #16,199
- “clumsy” frequency rank
- 47309
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clump | clumsy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A cluster or lump; an unshaped piece or mass. | Awkward, lacking coordination, not graceful, not dextrous. |
Where the eye mixes clump and clumsy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. clump runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against clumsy's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses clump with clumsy
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clump is /klʌmp/ while clumsy is /ˈklʌmzi/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47309, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clump is recorded at frequency rank #31,110, classified as anoun, pronounced /klʌmp/. clumsy is at rank #16,199, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈklʌmzi/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 47309, this pair ranks #203,634 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clump vs clumsy
Shared letters: clmu. Private to "clump": p. Private to "clumsy": sy.
"clump" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "clumsy" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "clump" and "clumsy" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "clump" or "clumsy"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "clump" and "clumsy" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clump" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clumsy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #203,634 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clump" and "clumsy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chums vs clump". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #203,634 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.