1
as in uncomfortable
lacking social grace and assurance
inelegant teens still learning how to act at formal events
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inappropriate
marked by an obvious lack of style or good taste
inelegant furniture that looked like it belonged in a budget motel
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inelegant
Thompson’s American accent is something to behold: flat, inelegant, and charmless, which is to say, the opposite of how Thompson usually sounds, and for playing the gay American version of herself, Thompson won the Emmy for Guest Star in a Comedy.
—
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Their ingenious creation — an unlikely combination of spacesuit parts, duct tape, and the suddenly obsolete mission plan — encapsulates the film in an inelegant nutshell.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 30 June 2025
And, here’s the kicker, and the most annoying part: They are served in cardboard boxes, which makes eating them at a table inelegant at best.
—Jess Fleming, Twin Cities, 9 May 2025
The obvious fix is a little bit of duct tape, an inelegant but quick repair with a resource that most households already have on hand.
—PC Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inelegant
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Their ingenious creation — an unlikely combination of spacesuit parts, duct tape, and the suddenly obsolete mission plan — encapsulates the film in an inelegant nutshell.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 30 June 2025
And, here’s the kicker, and the most annoying part: They are served in cardboard boxes, which makes eating them at a table inelegant at best.
—Jess Fleming, Twin Cities, 9 May 2025
The obvious fix is a little bit of duct tape, an inelegant but quick repair with a resource that most households already have on hand.
—PC Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inelegant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inelegant
Adjective
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Pay close attention to signs that a new sweater is uncomfortable or causing your dog pain.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
16 Oct. 2025
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Taking their uncomfortable seats were Josh Greenstein, president of marketing and production; Sanford Panitch, president of production; and Steven O’Dell, president of international marketing.—
Jay Glennie,
Deadline,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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And if the gifts this year are inappropriate, the fault will rest solely with him.—
Mark Mondier,
Arkansas Online,
19 Oct. 2025
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After Ansari set Being Mortal as his directorial debut in February 2022, also set to star alongside Murray, Deadline reported exclusively that April that Searchlight Pictures had suspended production following allegations of inappropriate behavior against Murray.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Arturs Silovs looked a bit clumsy in the first period and his rebound control was less than stellar.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
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Actually, Alma does suffer from ulcers, which cause her extraordinary stomach pain and vomiting at inconvenient moments, and cause viewers to wonder not if but when such clumsy symbolic traits will be trotted out in the future.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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That’s not entirely incorrect; Hellebuyck has been closer to league-average than Hart-caliber thus far.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
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Scientists, meteorologists, and other branches of the federal government say these assertions are largely incorrect.—
Stephanie Armour,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In all of the courses, the pedagogy is an awkward pastiche of traditions, combining Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Slavic paganism, Siberian shamanism, and Asian spiritual practices, spiked with elements of Jungian and American pop psychology.—
Julia Ioffe,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
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Pignato shared a scene from a recent consult with a rival company that wanted advice on how to bring AI into its engineering workflow, and an awkward generational mismatch.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Financial promotion rules prevent inappropriate marketing to unsuitable investors.—
Boaz Sobrado,
Forbes.com,
6 Oct. 2025
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According to a study published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment in 2024, up to 70% of current wine-producing regions could become unsuitable for growing grapes if global temperatures rise by more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.—
Miguel A. Torres,
Time,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This uneasy detente between Matty and Olympia drives much of the rest of this episode’s plot.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
13 Oct. 2025
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Wichita police are asking for the public’s help identifying a woman reportedly taken by force early Sunday morning — an incident that has left neighbors uneasy.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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After Frost’s retirement in 2001, with conglomerates having become deeply unfashionable, other parts of the company were sold and Hays became a focused staffing and recruitment business.—
Ian King,
CNBC,
8 Oct. 2025
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Whatever Gentiles might have thought in private, the Nazis had made overt antisemitism unfashionable, even odious.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inelegant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inelegant. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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