as in clumsy
having or showing an inability to move in a graceful manner
the stiff, gawky gait of a newborn colt
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Recent Examples of gawky
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
All the money her father had left them was put toward his daughters’ private education, but she was ostracized by wealthy classmates who bullied her for being too poor, too gawky and too dark-skinned.
—Kyle Buchanan, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2025
Carmello, a three-time Tony nominee, delivers an exquisite performance, equal parts gawky and wise, a tender-hearted girl feeling every slight but also always slightly above the fray.
—Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
Here, Finnigan is gawky and eager in a T-shirt and jeans, with a few helpful props on hand, determined to tick all the boxes just so.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for gawky
Adjective
As Andy Kaufman, Nicholas Braun has just the right gawky awkwardness, and his brief, odd, mostly silent appearances in the first half of the film delightfully pay off near the climax.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
All the money her father had left them was put toward his daughters’ private education, but she was ostracized by wealthy classmates who bullied her for being too poor, too gawky and too dark-skinned.
—Kyle Buchanan, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2025
Carmello, a three-time Tony nominee, delivers an exquisite performance, equal parts gawky and wise, a tender-hearted girl feeling every slight but also always slightly above the fray.
—Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
Here, Finnigan is gawky and eager in a T-shirt and jeans, with a few helpful props on hand, determined to tick all the boxes just so.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for gawky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gawky
Adjective
-
Where the real Colin and Emma have trouble getting much further than a clumsy hug after a putt-putt date, some of the acting couples have increased their intimacy levels with breathtaking speed.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
12 May 2025
-
Word's document comparison interface is also clumsy and confusing compared with FineReader's.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
30 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
There’s at least one major shoe that could drop — why devote an entire episode to the Gemstone origin story if that gold Bible isn’t going to pay off somehow? — but The Righteous Gemstones loves these grotesque, dysfunctional louts.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
28 Apr. 2025
-
And when someone does cross the line, like the louts who doused cops in Harlem and Brownsville with water in 2019, most officers have shown remarkable restraint.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2024
Adjective
-
There was an awkward overhead in the third game that Sinner couldn’t meet square on.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
13 May 2025
-
But the timing of the Rockies’ decision was awkward.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
12 May 2025
Noun
-
Buck is a loquacious, glad-handing oaf who has a boring way with a witty story, and is marked for death.—
Fred Schruers,
IndieWire,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Hackman’s aggravation early on that directors didn’t seek out and exploit his comic and even improv talents was handled unforgettably in his portrayal of Superman villain Lex Luthor, a flamboyant oaf of Trumpian proportions.—
Fred Schruers,
IndieWire,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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That dispute was patched over by an ungainly agreement, negotiated between the European Commission and the U.S. government.—
Henry Farrell,
Foreign Affairs,
3 Apr. 2025
-
Examples imported from 1975 through 1985 had rather ungainly impact bumpers, so early, chrome-bumper cars are aesthetically more desirable.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Social-media companies try to stem cartels’ activity on their sites, but their efforts have been sporadic and uncoordinated.—
Antón Barba-Kay,
The Atlantic,
26 Apr. 2025
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Yet compared with the first Trump administration, when the threat to American democracy was not as stark, the resistance today is limited and uncoordinated.—
Laura Gamboa,
Foreign Affairs,
31 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Police believe the architecture-loving tyke managed to take a train to Manhattan, Akond said.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2025
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In 1993 the company scooped up Fisher-Price and toys and games for infants and young tykes.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
6 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Here, the blurring is visual: Sometimes Leonard floats into the past looking like Gere, who wears the character without a shred of self-protection as the lens gawks at his raw skin.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Dec. 2024
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The Esprit's shape, arguably more avant-garde despite its age, consistently pegs the gawk meter.—
John Phillips,
Car and Driver,
18 June 2020
Cite this Entry
“Gawky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gawky. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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