as in uncomfortable
lacking social grace and assurance
an ungraceful but well-meaning hostess
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Recent Examples of ungraceful
Is there an ungraceful way to age?
—
Lydia Price, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025
For his part, Harman chooses allegiance to sentences so ungraceful that Kafka, as Coetzee suggests, might have written them in his sleep.
—Joy Williams, Harper's Magazine, 2 May 2024
Occasionally, the dialogue is ungraceful in connecting the lines between past and present.
—Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2022
Extra cuddles for the extremely ungraceful Flounder.
—Brenna Murphy, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2021
At best, President Donald Trump's exit from the White House is ungraceful.
—Arkansas Online, 29 Nov. 2020
Next spring will mark six years since Northland mall in Southfield closed for good after a long and ungraceful decline.
—Jc Reindl, Detroit Free Press, 19 Nov. 2020
Given that much time and his history of health, Cano could’ve endured even a fairly ungraceful decline and reached 3,000 hits and 400 home runs and shoo-in Hall of Fame status by his age-40 season when his deal runs up.
—Ted Berg, For The Win, 15 May 2018
Babcock launched himself in the crowd and immediately numerous audience members—including yours truly—took an ungraceful tumble.
—Efrain Dorado, RedEye Chicago, 7 Aug. 2017
Lydia Price, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025
For his part, Harman chooses allegiance to sentences so ungraceful that Kafka, as Coetzee suggests, might have written them in his sleep.
—Joy Williams, Harper's Magazine, 2 May 2024
Occasionally, the dialogue is ungraceful in connecting the lines between past and present.
—Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2022
Extra cuddles for the extremely ungraceful Flounder.
—Brenna Murphy, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2021
At best, President Donald Trump's exit from the White House is ungraceful.
—Arkansas Online, 29 Nov. 2020
Next spring will mark six years since Northland mall in Southfield closed for good after a long and ungraceful decline.
—Jc Reindl, Detroit Free Press, 19 Nov. 2020
Given that much time and his history of health, Cano could’ve endured even a fairly ungraceful decline and reached 3,000 hits and 400 home runs and shoo-in Hall of Fame status by his age-40 season when his deal runs up.
—Ted Berg, For The Win, 15 May 2018
Babcock launched himself in the crowd and immediately numerous audience members—including yours truly—took an ungraceful tumble.
—Efrain Dorado, RedEye Chicago, 7 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ungraceful
Adjective
-
And second, there’s the audience’s uncomfortable tingle of recognition watching Vladimir Putin’s tightening stranglehold on the Russian press.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
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Fortunately, there are many people who care enough about ballet to face these uncomfortable truths, and who are working to bring ballet into the twenty-first century by challenging traditions that don’t serve dancers’ health or the long-term health of the artform.—
Chloe Angyal,
Time,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Many travelers feel 'uneasy' about going abroad.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
9 Mar. 2026
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The United States and Israel’s widening war with Iran has stricken an already uneasy global economy with a new bout of uncertainty.—
Mirtha Donastorg,
AJC.com,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ungraceful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ungraceful. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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