| / English Dictionary |
UNGAINLY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected forms: ungainlier , ungainliest
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Lacking grace in movement or posture
Example:
heaved his unwieldy figure out of his chair
Synonyms:
clumsy; clunky; gawky; ungainly; unwieldy
Classified under:
Similar:
awkward (lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance)
Derivation:
ungainliness (the carriage of someone whose movements and posture are extremely ungainly and inelegant)
Sense 2
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:
Similar:
unmanageable; unwieldy (difficult to use or handle or manage because of size or weight or shape)
Context examples:
Alleyne, all unnerved at so strange and unwonted a sight, shrunk up against the wall with his eyes fixed upon the frenzied creature, which came bounding along with ungainly speed, looking the larger in the uncertain light, its huge jaws agape, with blood and slaver trickling to the ground.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
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