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
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Recent Examples of ungainly
When her rival, Poot’s Thea, arrives underdressed, Hedda forces her into a hideous frock with fussy bows and an ungainly skirt.
—
Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025
Despite their ungainly silhouettes and handling quirks, they were considered formidable gun platforms.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2025
Critics started using the ungainly term Apatowian to describe his imitators.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
An absolute charmer, the film is an affecting look at the human-avian bond, with all its mysteries, warmth and ungainly practicalities.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ungainly
Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025
Despite their ungainly silhouettes and handling quirks, they were considered formidable gun platforms.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2025
Critics started using the ungainly term Apatowian to describe his imitators.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
An absolute charmer, the film is an affecting look at the human-avian bond, with all its mysteries, warmth and ungainly practicalities.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ungainly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ungainly
Adjective
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That makes the killers kind of human and fallible and clumsy, and these movies get a lot of mileage out of the slapstick shenanigans of their slasher chases.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
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Then, however, Phillips was sent off four minutes into the second half for a clumsy lunge at Svante Ingelsson, and suddenly Wednesday believed.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Our awkward hero copes with grief through humor while navigating relationships with her type-A sister (Sian Clifford), her nasty stepmother (Olivia Colman), and, in season 2, a hot priest (Andrew Scott).—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Mar. 2026
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This profound snow drought comes at an especially awkward time, compounding a quarter-century of regional aridification that has drained the nation’s two largest reservoirs to precarious depths.—
Brandon Loomis,
AZCentral.com,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The slow progress of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and the bureaucracy of the African Union shows how ineffective an unwieldy pan-African vision can be.—
Alexis Akwagyiram,
semafor.com,
27 Feb. 2026
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Paring knives are too short to get the job done, and chef’s knives (including the gyuto) can be too unwieldy for such delicate work.—
Jesse Raub,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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Yoav Gallant, then the country's defense minister, believed that arrangement was too cumbersome.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
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Without enough staff, the distribution of Measure W funds will be cumbersome and slow while the fund accumulates taxes through 2031.—
Kyle Martin,
Mercury News,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Usually when the economy is unsteady and the job market is weakening, the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to give things a boost.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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Lusti and Morrison made their first attempt in 2023 alongside big-mountain skier Tanner McNutt, but avalanches and unsteady snowpack turned the trio back from the summit.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Somatic shaking can look a little different from one person to the next, but usually involves a few minutes of wildly uncoordinated jumping, arm flapping, and foot stomping.—
Tom Gavin,
EverydayHealth.com,
2 Mar. 2026
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Every one of these new bits of hardware introduced a new set of uncoordinated chatter of alarms that simply produced noise.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ungainly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ungainly. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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