awkward

[awk-werd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR awkward ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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.

Nearby words

Origin of awkward

1300–50; Middle English, equivalent to awk(e), auk(e) ‘backhanded’, Old English *afoc (< Old Norse ǫfugr ‘turned the wrong way’; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German abuh, Old English afu(h)lic ‘wrong’, off) + -ward -ward

Related forms

awk·ward·ly, adverbawk·ward·ness, nounun·awk·ward, adjectiveun·awk·ward·ly, adverb

un·awk·ward·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for awkwardness

In a romantic relationship, facing humiliation or awkwardness is a strong possibility.
Random Hook-Ups or Dry Spells: Why Millennials Flunk College Dating|Ellie Schaack|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Now for the complications and awkwardness, to say nothing of elbows and gossip and rivalries and all that other stuff.
A City Hall Affair to Remember|Lloyd Grove|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With two Texans in the running as potential candidates, Sessions sought to diffuse any awkwardness.
Republicans Panicked After Eric Cantor Loss: ‘This Is Like Robespierre’|Ben Jacobs, Tim Mak|June 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rather, he dishes up a seemingly endless stream of examples of pettiness, irritation, hypocrisy and awkwardness.
Fear And Self-Loathing In Scandinavia: The Fiction Of Karl Ove Knausgaard|Ted Gioia|May 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

That is the awkwardness of testifying about intelligence matters in public.
Spy Chief James Clapper: We Can’t Stop Another Snowden|Eli Lake|February 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His awkwardness disappeared; and if he was a little bombastic, a little "young," he spoke with the fire of conviction.
A Far Country, Complete|Winston Churchill
Ruth bemoaned again her awkwardness in breaking the tea-cups; for now they had to sip the infusion of leaves from cockle-shells.
The Kangaroo Hunters|Anne Bowman
The boy's awkwardness seems to infect her, too, for a moment.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 92, June, 1865|Various
There was not the faintest trace of awkwardness about her, yet Shelton could not help a certain sense of shock.
The Island Pharisees|John Galsworthy
It seemed to me, looking on with a few others at the door, that there was a kind of awkwardness or constraint among the company.
The Lady of Lynn|Walter Besant

British Dictionary definitions for awkwardness

awkward

adjective

lacking dexterity, proficiency, or skill; clumsy; ineptthe new recruits were awkward in their exercises

ungainly or inelegant in movements or posturedespite a great deal of practice she remained an awkward dancer

unwieldy; difficult to usean awkward implement

embarrassingan awkward moment

embarrassedhe felt awkward about leaving

difficult to deal with; requiring tactan awkward situation; an awkward customer

deliberately uncooperative or unhelpfulhe could help but he is being awkward

dangerous or difficultan awkward ascent of the ridge

obsolete perverse

Derived Formsawkwardly, adverbawkwardness, noun

Word Origin for awkward

C14 awk, from Old Norse öfugr turned the wrong way round + -ward

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

Word Origin and History for awkwardness

awkwardness

1704, "lack of grace," from awkward + -ness. Meaning "physical clumsiness" is attested from c.1770; that of "social embarrassment" is from 1788.

awkward

adj.

mid-14c., "in the wrong direction," from awk "back-handed" + adverbial suffix -weard (see -ward). Meaning "clumsy" first recorded 1520s. Related: Awkwardly. Other formations from awk, none of them surviving, were awky, awkly, awkness.

awkward

adjective

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Origin of awkward

Examples from the Web for awkwardness

awkward

adjective

Word Origin for awkward

awkwardness

awkward