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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gawky
Maxie Younger, Pitchfork, 27 Mar. 2026
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
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
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
See All Example Sentences for gawky
Adjective
Played in full, Silent Way induces a pervasive nausea, reveling in gawky soundscapes that seem barely able to contain their outsized, clashing ideas.
—Maxie Younger, Pitchfork, 27 Mar. 2026
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
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
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
See All Example Sentences for gawky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gawky
Adjective
-
This layout makes the monitor a natural fit for high-traffic environments like banking counters, medical reception desks, and service queues where traditional screen-sharing is often clumsy or compromises privacy.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
8 June 2026
-
The clumsy third inning from the defense didn’t help Tong, who threw 27 pitches in the frame.—
Will Sammon,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
The league’s most popular player has become its biggest lout.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
The awkward situation that Thiago is talking about involves receiving the ball with his back to a player who is closing him down at speed from behind.—
Stuart James,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
-
Almost nine years after their awkward handshake at the 2017 Bastille Day military parade, the two men politely shook hands and expressed their affinity for each other.—
Mabinty Quarshie,
The Washington Examiner,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
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
-
And then find a slippery road, or just drive like an oaf.—
Jonathan M. Gitlin,
ArsTechnica,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Seydoux tromps through the film with a masculine heaviness — a sense of dysphoria that translates to her character’s ungainly bearing.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
18 May 2026
-
In its back-to-back knottiness, the album takes on an ungainly quality that, deliberate or not, sets up roadblocks to prolonged enjoyment.—
Maxie Younger,
Pitchfork,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
At least Duncan’s daughter and fellow cadet, Teela (Eire Farrell), takes pity on the hopeless tyke.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
4 June 2026
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That backstory might prove disturbing for younger tykes, as will a vicious battle between Sebastian and two menacing dogs, no doubt accounting for the film’s PG rating.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Much of this is vibrational motion, which is random and uncoordinated.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
10 June 2026
-
European powers responded with waves of uncoordinated border closures and trade restrictions that caused enormous economic damage without reliably stopping transmission.—
Katrine L. Wallace,
The Conversation,
29 May 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 20 Jun. 2026.
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