gawky
Americanadjective
adjective
-
clumsy or ungainly; awkward
-
dialect left-handed
Other Word Forms
- gawkily adverb
- gawkiness noun
- gawkishly adverb
- gawkishness noun
Etymology
Origin of gawky
Explanation
Gawky people are awkward and uncoordinated, like giraffes doing ballet. Teenagers often feel gawky when their arms and legs grow faster than the rest of them. If you've ever felt awkward and clumsy, tripping over your own feet as you head down the hall or bumping your head on your open locker, you know what it's like to feel gawky. This adjective comes from the 16th century phrase gawk hand, or "left hand."
Vocabulary lists containing gawky
Awkward Moments
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Whoops! Synonyms for "Clumsy"
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The Dragonet Prophecy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He said the teenager came across as an "unremarkable, sullen, untalkative, gawky teenage boy" during their sessions together.
From BBC • Oct. 20, 2025
Moreover, the script transitions him, through Finan’s effective performance, from a gawky, bespectacled nerd putting on airs, into an unctuous political predator.
From Salon • Nov. 14, 2024
When he arrived on the scene with the Mariners as a rookie three years later, it was his teammates who were curious — curious about what the heck this gawky 6-foot-6 rookie was doing.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 24, 2024
Charles Philip Arthur George, then a gawky 20-year-old, was crowned Prince of Wales nearly 55 years ago in the crenelated fortress that dominates this pretty Welsh town.
From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2023
But I lacked the courage and she had a boyfriend and I was gawky and she was gorgeous and I was hopelessly boring and she was endlessly fascinating.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
