1
as in clumsy
difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design
getting the ungainly couch up the stairs was a real chore
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in awkward
having or showing an inability to move in a graceful manner
the tree cutter was crushing any unlucky petunias that lay in the path of his ungainly tread
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ungainly
On land, hippos appear slow and ungainly.
—
Francois Botha, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
All signatory state parties would have to agree to add a new pathogen (or new type of organism of concern) to the convention, an ungainly process of herding cats that could make this effort hard to achieve.
—Liyam Chitayat, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2025
On the other, the quick and almost casual way in which Kirsh runs through what he’s figured out is emblematic of an ungainly episode that seems in a rush to get through a lot of things, especially where the Xenomorph is concerned.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2025
The cornerstones of maps’ data pools are satellite images and a tireless fleet of Street View cars that roam with ungainly camera hats, constantly refreshing neighborhood-level detail.
—Sonya Bennett-Brandt, AFAR Media, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for ungainly
Francois Botha, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
All signatory state parties would have to agree to add a new pathogen (or new type of organism of concern) to the convention, an ungainly process of herding cats that could make this effort hard to achieve.
—Liyam Chitayat, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2025
On the other, the quick and almost casual way in which Kirsh runs through what he’s figured out is emblematic of an ungainly episode that seems in a rush to get through a lot of things, especially where the Xenomorph is concerned.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2025
The cornerstones of maps’ data pools are satellite images and a tireless fleet of Street View cars that roam with ungainly camera hats, constantly refreshing neighborhood-level detail.
—Sonya Bennett-Brandt, AFAR Media, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for ungainly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ungainly
Adjective
-
Arturs Silovs looked a bit clumsy in the first period and his rebound control was less than stellar.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
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Actually, Alma does suffer from ulcers, which cause her extraordinary stomach pain and vomiting at inconvenient moments, and cause viewers to wonder not if but when such clumsy symbolic traits will be trotted out in the future.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
In all of the courses, the pedagogy is an awkward pastiche of traditions, combining Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Slavic paganism, Siberian shamanism, and Asian spiritual practices, spiked with elements of Jungian and American pop psychology.—
Julia Ioffe,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
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Pignato shared a scene from a recent consult with a rival company that wanted advice on how to bring AI into its engineering workflow, and an awkward generational mismatch.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Democrats, however, blasted Earle-Sears’s constant interruptions during the debate as unwieldy.—
Mabinty Quarshie,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Oct. 2025
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After his umpteenth comeback, director Robert Altman almost immediately ruined his career again with this tepid, unwieldy multicharacter satire of the fashion world.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Homeroom placement was designated by test scores, and Smith rightly recalled that her homeroom class with Tupac was filled by twenty-eight Black students — and a gawky white kid named William Yates.—
Jeff Pearlman,
Rolling Stone,
17 Oct. 2025
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Crenshaw made fun of Davidson’s gawky stature and then called for respect for all veterans as well as first responders in the 9/11 attacks — one of whom was Davidson’s father.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Like the cumbersome, omnipresent sheriff's duty belt, complete with handgun, handcuffs and the works.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
16 Oct. 2025
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The results are incredibly detailed, although the accessory is cumbersome.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The shock to Hal and Kate’s equilibrium, already unsteady to begin with, is even more rewarding.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
16 Oct. 2025
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The senator seemed unsteady, but got up and kept walking with the help of his detail.—
Lauren Peller,
ABC News,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This can lead to problems such as weakness, muscle tension, and uncoordinated voiding that can cause issues like incontinence, urgency, and frequent urinary tract infections.—
Maggie O'Neill,
Verywell Health,
3 Oct. 2025
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Despite reports saying that Kidman and Urban had been separated for a few weeks, the announcement and the ensuing headlines have an uncoordinated chaos.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ungainly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ungainly. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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