awkward
lacking skill or dexterity.
lacking grace or ease in movement: an awkward gesture;an awkward dancer.
lacking social graces or manners: a simple, awkward frontiersman.
not well planned or designed for easy or effective use: an awkward instrument;an awkward method.
requiring caution; somewhat hazardous: an awkward turn in the road.
hard to deal with; difficult; requiring skill, tact, or the like: an awkward situation;an awkward customer.
embarrassing or inconvenient; caused by lack of social grace: an awkward moment.
Obsolete. untoward; perverse.
Origin of awkward
1Other words for awkward
1 | clumsy, inept; unskillful, unhandy, inexpert |
2 | uncoordinated, graceless, ungainly; gawky; maladroit; clumsy |
3 | gauche, unpolished, unrefined; blundering, oafish; ill-mannered, unmannerly, ill-bred |
4 | unwieldy, cumbersome, unmanageable; inconvenient, difficult, troublesome |
5 | dangerous, risky, unsafe, chancy; perilous, precarious, treacherous |
7 | unpleasant, trying, difficult; uncomfortable, ticklish, touchy |
Opposites for awkward
Other words from awkward
- awk·ward·ly, adverb
- awk·ward·ness, noun
- un·awk·ward, adjective
- un·awk·ward·ly, adverb
- un·awk·ward·ness, noun
Words Nearby awkward
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use awkward in a sentence
It’s the first time I’ve read a book where every sentence is cowritten, and it didn’t feel awkward at all.
The best things I bought in September to make working and living at home easier | Rachel Schallom | September 27, 2020 | FortuneThe painful consequence of that will be a clunky, suboptimal transposition of the physical to the virtual, right down—one fears—to an awkward videoconference cocktail hour.
You can also stretch one app across both screens, but it’s unsightly and awkward to have your content sliced down the middle with a big blank bar.
Review of the Microsoft Surface Duo folding phone: Very pretty but just how useful is it? | Aaron Pressman | September 10, 2020 | FortuneThe latest service disruptions come at an awkward time for Robinhood.
Robinhood app stumbles amid surge in Apple, Tesla trading volume | Jeff | September 1, 2020 | FortuneExcept that it’ll be rooted in awkward, funny and compelling reality.
The squabble was also immortalized in this incredibly awkward family portrait.
Solange Smacks Jay Z, Legolas Slaps Bieber, and the Biggest Celebrity Feuds of the Year | Amy Zimmerman | December 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe rapper will.i.am was one such panelist, forced upon Gregory for an excruciatingly awkward roundtable segment.
David Gregory's 'Meet the Press' Eviction Exposed in Washingtonian Takedown | Lloyd Grove | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSome immediately treated the young rapper as a punchline, turning his awkward posture in the photo into a meme.
He sketched it quickly, his hand trembling, giving the drawing an awkward, palsied look.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days | David Freeman | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBy two-thirty on the first afternoon at his house, I long for a cup of coffee but feel awkward about asking.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days | David Freeman | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe moment was an awkward one, and Cynthia wished madly that she had not been prompted to ask that unfortunate question.
The Boarded-Up House | Augusta Huiell SeamanThis was no strange sight to the boy by that time, but it was awkward in the circumstances, for he had neither gun nor spear.
The Giant of the North | R.M. BallantyneFinally, his predicament became so awkward that an expression of distress crept into his face.
The Homesteader | Oscar MicheauxMeyer Isaacson said nothing; and, after a silence that was awkward, Nigel changed the conversation, and not long after went away.
Bella Donna | Robert HichensPerhaps that made it awkward for him, as he was not accustomed to having his wife in such close proximity with him daily.
The Homesteader | Oscar Micheaux
British Dictionary definitions for awkward
/ (ˈɔːkwəd) /
lacking dexterity, proficiency, or skill; clumsy; inept: the new recruits were awkward in their exercises
ungainly or inelegant in movements or posture: despite a great deal of practice she remained an awkward dancer
unwieldy; difficult to use: an awkward implement
embarrassing: an awkward moment
embarrassed: he felt awkward about leaving
difficult to deal with; requiring tact: an awkward situation; an awkward customer
deliberately uncooperative or unhelpful: he could help but he is being awkward
dangerous or difficult: an awkward ascent of the ridge
obsolete perverse
Origin of awkward
1Derived forms of awkward
- awkwardly, adverb
- awkwardness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse