# heavy-handed

> English word · Adjective

## Definitions
1. Clumsy; awkward.
2. Excessive; overdone.
3. Lacking subtlety or nuance.
4. Overbearing, coercive; unnecessarily forceful; harsh, oppressive.

## Etymology
From heavy + hand + -ed, literally “having a heavy hand”. Compare Middle English hevitime, heviteme (“burdensome, grievous, grave”), from Old English hefiġtīme, hefiġtȳme (“grievous, wearisome, tedious, troublesome”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/heavy-handed