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awkward

[ awk-werd ]
/ ˈɔk wərd /
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See synonyms for: awkward / awkwardly / awkwardness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
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Origin of awkward

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, equivalent to awk(e), auk(e) “backhanded,” (unattested) Old English afoc (from Old Norse ǫfugr “turned the wrong way, backwards”; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German abuh “wrong, bad,” Old English afu(h)lic “perverse”) + -ward suffix denoting direction; see origin at off, -ward

OTHER WORDS FROM awkward

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use awkward in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for awkward

awkward
/ (ˈɔːkwəd) /

adjective

Derived forms of awkward

awkwardly, 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
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