Synonyms

inelegant

American

[in-el-i-guhnt] / ɪnˈɛl ɪ gənt /

adjective

not elegant; lacking in refinement, gracefulness, or good taste.

inelegant British

/ ɪnˈɛlɪɡənt /

adjective

lacking in elegance or refinement; unpolished or graceless
coarse or crude

"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

Other Word Forms

inelegance noun
inelegantly adverb

Etymology

Origin of inelegant

First recorded in 1500–10, inelegant is from the Latin word inēlegant- (stem of inēlegāns ). See in- ³, elegant

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.

The clank of this supposed breakthrough idea is as inelegant as the meandering storytelling.

From The Wall Street Journal

The victory was inelegant, but this wasn’t about style.

From Los Angeles Times

Hence the event's rather convoluted and inelegant official title.

From BBC

Plenty of the twists leading up to the last episode are idiotic, including a few scenes relying on CGI distractingly inelegant enough to border on repulsive.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023