Today’s Words That Work: Maladroit

Maladroit (mal-uh-DROIT) — from the French — means unskillful; awkward; bungling; tactless.

Example (as used by Jennifer B. McDonald in a New York Times review of Diaghilev: A Life by Sjeng Scheijen): “[Diaghilev's] mother died soon after his birth, and he was raised by his father, a military man turned maladroit businessman, and a ‘dreamy’ stepmother who taught young Serge never to utter the words ‘I can’t.’”