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
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 June 2025
Hiccup, played this time with game and gawky charm by Mason Thames, has been raised to think the only solution to violence is more violence.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2025
Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes.
—Literary Hub, 22 May 2025
Mull had his laconic delivery and blonde mustache; Flaherty was tall and gawky, a human Adam’s apple.
—Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for gawky
Adjective
Agnes has a gawky, floppy-haired beauty, a gently appraising stare, quizzically arching eyebrows, and a tendency to listen with her mouth half open, as if in anticipation of a punch line that will take her, and us, by surprise.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 June 2025
Hiccup, played this time with game and gawky charm by Mason Thames, has been raised to think the only solution to violence is more violence.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2025
Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes.
—Literary Hub, 22 May 2025
Mull had his laconic delivery and blonde mustache; Flaherty was tall and gawky, a human Adam’s apple.
—Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for gawky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gawky
Adjective
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But it’s played sincerely, so the visual contrast just makes the connection feel clumsy, if not outright absurd.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
23 Mar. 2026
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McGee meets one of a clumsy TURF intern Pete, who is revealed to be Olivia's 18-year-old son, Matteo (Patrick Keleher) under interrogation.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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There’s a maddening human truth tucked into the fact that everyone — from Lebedev’s forceful, hopeful young daughter Sasha (Maya Shoham) to the lout Borkin, whom Labbadia embodies irresistibly as a kind of Bronx-y hustler — is drawn to this man in free fall.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
23 Mar. 2026
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Less impactful but notable, Riley added Jimmy Butler to join the Bam Adebayo/Tyler Herro core in 2020, though Butler fell short of delivering a championship before eventually pouting his way lout of town and being traded one year ago, last Feb. 6.—
Greg Cote
January 30,
Miami Herald,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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So Pakistan is already in an awkward position because the Saudis are being attacked.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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Lock down the logistics first The fastest way to kill trip momentum is skipping the awkward conversations.—
Lauren Schuster,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Star-studded, and then some, the upcoming show boasts giant of stage and screen John Lithgow as Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Golden Globe winner Janet McTeer as stern but wise Professor Minerva McGonagall, and comedy stalwart Nick Frost as gentle oaf Rubeus Hagrid.—
Charlotte Reck,
CNN Money,
26 Mar. 2026
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And in the 1939 film, the Wizard is a kind of bumbling oaf who has stumbled onto the levers of power (almost literally).—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
21 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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By the way, because Vidal can spare no form of mockery, we are introduced to George Washington as a man who walks with an ungainly waddle.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
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And, just like the Cayenne, the Panamera did so in spite of a rather ungainly exterior.—
Will Sabel Courtney,
Robb Report,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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It was taken when Naumov was about 3, a little tyke trying to find his footing on the ice for the first time.—
Dave Skretta,
Baltimore Sun,
28 Jan. 2026
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There are two scenes that show the transformation of main characters into the Tin Man and the Scarecrow, and while the more harrowing stuff is seen in flashes or close-ups, there’s still some unnerving body horror that could give tykes nightmares.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
20 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The country had lost a generation of promising students and researchers during World War I; its universities were teaching math in uncoordinated, fragmented ways, using materials that were woefully out of date.—
Leila Sloman,
Quanta Magazine,
25 Mar. 2026
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For a quiet, uncoordinated kid, there was nothing cooler than a hero whose superpower was his imagination.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Carrie raves to Seema about her creative connection with Duncan, and during another writing session, Duncan helps Carrie with her faulty printer and gawks at her closet full of designer dresses and shoes.—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
31 July 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Gawky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gawky. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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