awkward

adjective

awk·​ward ˈȯ-kwərd 

1

a

: lacking dexterity or skill (as in the use of hands)

I'm awkward with a needle and thread.

b

: showing the result of a lack of expertness

an awkward attempt

awkward pictures

2

a

: lacking ease or grace (as of movement or expression)

awkward writing

b

: lacking the right proportions, size, or harmony of parts : ungainly

an awkward design

3

a

: lacking social grace and assurance

an awkward newcomer

b

: causing embarrassment

an awkward moment

4

: not easy to handle or deal with : requiring great skill, ingenuity, or care

an awkward load

an awkward diplomatic situation

5

obsolete : perverse

6

archaic : unfavorable, adverse

awkwardly adverb

awkwardness noun

Synonyms

• clumsy
• gauche
• graceless
• inelegant
• rough-hewn
• rustic
• rustical
• stiff
• stilted
• uncomfortable
• uneasy
• ungraceful
• wooden

Choose the Right Synonym for awkward

awkward, clumsy, maladroit, inept, gauche mean not marked by ease (as of performance, movement, or social conduct).

awkward is widely applicable and may suggest unhandiness, inconvenience, lack of muscular control, embarrassment, or lack of tact.

periods of awkward silence

clumsy implies stiffness and heaviness and so may connote inflexibility, unwieldiness, or lack of ordinary skill.

a clumsy mechanic

maladroit suggests a tendency to create awkward situations.

a maladroit politician

inept often implies complete failure or inadequacy.

a hopelessly inept defense attorney

gauche implies the effects of shyness, inexperience, or ill breeding.

felt gauche and unsophisticated at formal parties

Examples of awkward in a Sentence

I was electrified by what I learned in college. Still socially awkward, I had the bad habit of stopping strangers in the street to pour my heart out about the latest marvel I had learned. —Jaron Lanier, Curious Minds, (2004) 2005

Greene must have known that such men would not spill the beans about his irregular life or ask awkward questions, though Burgess famously teased him for being … a poseur, and was banished. —Paul Theroux, New York Times Book Review, 17 Oct. 2004

On the ground, vultures are hunched and awkward bundles of feathers, but in the air, where I watch them during much of the day, they are magnificent graceful soarers. —Words From the Land, Stephen Trimble, editor, 1988

She is awkward at dancing.

He had large feet and his walk was awkward and ungainly.

The story contained some awkward writing.

She is an awkward writer.

The machine is very awkward to operate.

I often find myself in awkward situations.

He was put in the awkward position of having to write the memo.

There was an awkward pause in the conversation.

He feels awkward with strangers.

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Recent Examples on the Web

Forget the traditional holiday mall crawl and the awkward Santa lap-sit; this year, one hotel is during the festive dial up to eleven. —Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023

Say goodbye to awkward hand positions and hello to a hands-free experience that makes work and leisure a breeze. —Poppy Morgan, Rolling Stone, 27 Nov. 2023

Luckily, Reeves wasn't playing a pro surfer, and his awkward moves fit his role as FBI agent Johnny Utah, who goes undercover to investigate the surf community. —Zoey Lyttle, Peoplemag, 24 Nov. 2023

Those awkward conversations and questions come far less frequently these days. —Tom Withers, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Nov. 2023

Most of the movie is a vaguely comical swipe at Napoleon in domestic life—an awkward lover, a jealous husband, an inveterate complainer, and in sum an annoying twerp. —Kyle Smith, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023

The frame is on the bulkier side, but this allows the device to stand on its own without an awkward stand, and in either landscape or portrait positioning. —Valerie Walsh, wsj.com, 20 Nov. 2023

Now, from the outside, the Hopkins center can conjure up an awkward fourth-grader in the front row of a class picture: well-behaved, anxious to fit in — still not quite at ease in its surroundings. —Michael Kimmelman, New York Times, 17 Nov. 2023

The director was searching for a particular fit between two actors who would be awkward, funny, and intuitive with one another. —Savina Petkova, Variety, 14 Nov. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Middle English awkeward in the wrong direction, from awke turned the wrong way, from Old Norse ǫfugr; akin to Old High German abuh turned the wrong way

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 5

Kids Definition

awkward

adjective

awk·​ward ˈȯ-kwərd 

1

: lacking skill and flexibility (as in the use of the hands)

2

: not graceful : clumsy

3

: causing embarrassment

an awkward situation

4

: difficult to use or handle

an awkward tool

awkwardly adverb

awkwardness noun