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
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
-
After the zapfest on Earth, the anti-climactic tussle between the forces of good and evil occurs back on Eternia, where He-Man and his nemesis cross swords in a clumsy fight that’s not only predictable but also photographed and edited poorly.—
Jeffrey Ressner,
HollywoodReporter,
3 June 2026
-
The simple walking pattern adopted by fish, which the Cambridge researchers call an ‘undulating tripod gait’, can appear to be quite clumsy and involves too much flopping.—
Abhishek Bhardwaj,
Interesting Engineering,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
Indeed, a dying wish and a cryptic clue lead the unlikely duo on a journey full of twists and turns, bad choices, awkward conversations, lies, fights, mystery, betrayal, and a dangerous killer.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
1 June 2026
-
Stakeholder facilitation and consensus-building bridge communication gaps and ease awkward conversations about one’s own compensation.—
Jim Hebets,
Forbes.com,
1 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
-
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
-
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
-
These incidents are part of a growing pattern of uncoordinated gatherings that have increased in size and frequency over the past several years.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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 8 Jun. 2026.
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