ungainly

adjective

un·​gain·​ly ˌən-ˈgān-lē How to pronounce ungainly (audio)
1
a
: lacking in smoothness or dexterity : clumsy
ungainly movements
b
: hard to handle : unwieldy
an ungainly contraption
2
: having an awkward appearance
a large ungainly bird
ungainliness noun

Did you know?

What do you have to gain by knowing the root of ungainly? Plenty. The gain in ungainly is an obsolete English adjective meaning "direct" that ultimately comes from the Old Norse preposition gegn, meaning "against." (It is unrelated to the noun in "economic gains" or the verb in "gain an advantage"; those came to English by way of Anglo-French.) Ungainly can describe someone who is clumsy, as in "a tall, ungainly man"; or something that causes you to feel clumsy when you try to handle it, as in "a car with ungainly controls"; or something that simply looks awkward and out of place, as in "an ungainly strip mall."

Examples of ungainly in a Sentence

He was tall and ungainly. getting the ungainly couch up the stairs was a real chore
Recent Examples on the Web Series 2 cars, built through 1971, made concessions to U.S. safety regulations, and the Series 3 cars, available as a convertible and an ungainly 2+2, were powered by a 5.3-liter V12 engine. Robert Ross, Robb Report, 28 Sep. 2024 Unfortunately, such spaciousness has long come at a price that includes ungainly styling, severely narrow staterooms in the outer hulls, and squirrely handling on big seas—not to mention a lack of compatibility with many marina slips due to the form’s bulky proportions. Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 4 Aug. 2024 The hagiography of the Arena brand doesn’t always fit in with the rest of ESPN’s programming, which is an ungainly mix of live sports, commercials for sports gambling and news reports on the damaging impact of sports gambling on live sports. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 July 2024 In 2022, the Albany Dems bypassed the IRC and drew an ugly ungainly district running around the shores of the Long Island Sound from Suffolk across Nassau, Queens, the Bronx and Westchester all the way to the Connecticut border, an unconstitutional gerrymander. New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ungainly 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ungainly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

obsolete gain direct, from Middle English gayn, geyn, from Old English gēn, from Old Norse gegn, from gegn, preposition, against; akin to Old English gēan- against — more at again

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of ungainly was in 1611

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Dictionary Entries Near ungainly

Cite this Entry

“Ungainly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ungainly. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

ungainly

adjective
un·​gain·​ly ˌən-ˈgān-lē How to pronounce ungainly (audio)
ungainliness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on ungainly

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