1
as in clumsy
difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design
getting the ungainly couch up the stairs was a real chore
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in awkward
having or showing an inability to move in a graceful manner
the tree cutter was crushing any unlucky petunias that lay in the path of his ungainly tread
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ungainly
And Farley was wild, crashing through tables, cramming himself into ungainly costumes, and going full red-faced dynamo mode all in pursuit of every last laugh in the building.
—
Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2025
Straining for its ungainly combination of action, romance and silly comedy, Love Hurts doesn’t fully succeed in any department.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
But then, only an actor who doesn’t quite fit in could have brought László to life with his ungainly, spirited passion, vanity and self-belief intact.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 5 Feb. 2025
The apparent impact is on video, with the ungainly trims placed on the picture demanded by a wide corner a thing of the past on the S25 Utlra.
—Ewan Spence, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ungainly
Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2025
Straining for its ungainly combination of action, romance and silly comedy, Love Hurts doesn’t fully succeed in any department.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
But then, only an actor who doesn’t quite fit in could have brought László to life with his ungainly, spirited passion, vanity and self-belief intact.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 5 Feb. 2025
The apparent impact is on video, with the ungainly trims placed on the picture demanded by a wide corner a thing of the past on the S25 Utlra.
—Ewan Spence, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ungainly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ungainly
Adjective
-
These transitions, between past and present, are sometimes clumsy but sometimes genuinely sweet, as with an old letter that near-simultaneously is dictated and written, received and read, and finally rediscovered (and only partially understood) in the 21st century.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
27 May 2025
-
Wildlife officials helped remove a black bear found hanging out in the kitchen of a Kentucky home after an impressive, yet clumsy break-in, photos show.—
Mitchell Willetts,
Kansas City Star,
25 May 2025
Adjective
-
Eddie's real parentage is revealed, Maeve is outed, Kevin catches up with Rusby, Bella brokers her deal, and Alice attends an awkward Harrigan dinner.—
Matt Cabral,
EW.com,
26 May 2025
-
There is also an awkward disconnect: Gmail’s recent encryption upgrade clashes with its AI upgrades.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
Adjective
-
The premise is an unwieldy new dragon arrives in Berk and doesn't appear to immediately respond to Hiccup's famous dragon whisperer-like touch, prompting him to question his abilities.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
24 May 2025
-
To some extent, the Dardennes distract us from this listicle of issues with the skill of old hands used to making unwieldy narratives work.—
Stephanie Bunbury,
Deadline,
23 May 2025
Adjective
-
The one big cable that neither of the solutions could easily eliminate, however, is the big, gawky PCI Express power cable that runs in and out of a graphics card, which to an extent spoils the effect.—
John Burek,
PC Magazine,
20 May 2025
-
Crumb’s gawky, eccentric persona was first revealed to the wider public in a 1994 documentary made by his friend Terry Zwigoff, which portrays the cartoonist with all of his incongruities.—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Their goal is also to reduce stress for breastfeeding parents and avoid the cumbersome use of pre- and post-feed weighing of infants.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
26 May 2025
-
The production is somewhat hampered by Anthony Tran’s cumbersome costumes and Chin’s grimly rational scenic design.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
20 May 2025
Adjective
-
It’s maintained an idiosyncratic spirit all along, combining references from across rock history—a Bob Dylan harmonica line here, a Cars synth line there—with lyrics that unspool in unsteady, careening cadences.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
22 May 2025
-
Not only that, but he was being fed an unsteady diet of cockroaches.—
Charlie Mason,
TVLine,
4 May 2025
Adjective
-
This is because the implementation of these measures is insufficient and uncoordinated and because there are not nearly enough concrete consequences—including sanctions or prosecutions—for illicit-gold traffickers and the refiners that purchase from them.—
SASHA LEZHNEV,
Foreign Affairs,
19 May 2025
-
Only 18 months after the collision, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which makes his left side uncoordinated and gnaws away at his memory.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
8 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ungainly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ungainly. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share