| / English Dictionary |
AWKWARD
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Socially uncomfortable; unsure and constrained in manner
Example:
was always uneasy with strangers
Synonyms:
awkward; ill at ease; uneasy
Classified under:
Similar:
uncomfortable (conducive to or feeling mental discomfort)
Derivation:
awkwardness (the inelegance of someone stiff and unrelaxed (as by embarrassment))
Sense 2
Meaning:
Causing inconvenience
Example:
they arrived at an awkward time
Classified under:
Similar:
inconvenient (not suited to your comfort, purpose or needs)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Hard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment
Example:
in the unenviable position of resorting to an act he had planned to save for the climax of the campaign
Synonyms:
awkward; embarrassing; sticky; unenviable
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
difficult; hard (not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure)
Derivation:
awkwardness (the quality of an embarrassing situation)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Not elegant or graceful in expression
Example:
if the rumor is true, can anything be more inept than to repeat it now?
Synonyms:
awkward; clumsy; cumbersome; ill-chosen; inapt; inept
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
infelicitous (not appropriate in application; defective)
Derivation:
awkwardness (unskillfulness resulting from a lack of training)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance
Example:
his clumsy fingers produced an awkward knot
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
clumsy; clunky; gawky; ungainly; unwieldy (lacking grace in movement or posture)
graceless; ungraceful (lacking grace; clumsy)
labored; laboured; strained (lacking natural ease)
wooden (lacking ease or grace)
Also:
maladroit (not adroit)
ugly (displeasing to the senses)
Antonym:
graceful (characterized by beauty of movement, style, form, or execution)
Derivation:
awkwardness (unskillfulness resulting from a lack of training)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Difficult to handle or manage especially because of shape
Example:
the cello, a rather ungainly instrument for a girl
Synonyms:
awkward; bunglesome; clumsy; ungainly
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unmanageable; unwieldy (difficult to use or handle or manage because of size or weight or shape)
Derivation:
awkwardness (trouble in carrying or managing caused by bulk or shape)
Context examples:
He forgot his awkward walk and came closer to the painting, very close.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Sometimes you can strain your neck muscles from sleeping in an awkward position or overdoing it during exercise.
(Neck Injuries and Disorders, NIH)
The route is used for blood transfusion or fluid therapy when other routes are awkward, as in neonates.
(Intramedullary Route of Administration, NCI Thesaurus)
The Scarecrow climbed up the ladder first, but he was so awkward that Dorothy had to follow close behind and keep him from falling off.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
“Ben Gunn,” he answered, and his voice sounded hoarse and awkward, like a rusty lock.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
In the present state of Siam it is most awkward that I should be away from the office.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
“By Heaven, it is my orders!” cried Nelson, snatching it up and fumbling with it in his awkward, one-handed attempt to break the seals.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Mr. Martin is now awkward and abrupt; what will he be at Mr. Weston's time of life?
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
The merest awkward country girl, without style, or elegance, and almost without beauty.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
She had never seen a place for which nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
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