ungainly
[uhn-geyn-lee]
- not graceful; awkward; unwieldy; clumsy: an ungainly child; an ungainly prose style.
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- in an awkward manner.
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Origin of ungainly
1150–1200; (adv.) Middle English ungeinliche, equivalent to un- un-1 + later Middle English geyn straight, well-disposed, handy (< Old Norse gegn straight, direct; compare Old Norse ūgegn unreasonable) + -liche -ly; (adj.) un-1 + obsolete gainly proper, becoming, gracious, Middle English gaynlych (geyn as above + -lych -ly); cf. gainly, again
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ungainly
Contemporary Examples
A 36-story tower designed by Rafael Vinoly nicknamed the “walkie-talkie” curves outward as it rises, ungainly and jarring.
Imagining Prince Charles as King Makes All of Britain Wish They Could Leave Like ScotlandClive Irving
September 17, 2014
This ungainly man soon percolated in my own melancholic imagination.
I imagine he made an ungainly lunge at her, which she again rejected and which left her seriously upset.
But in their ungainly, old fashioned ways, books and records beat their digital equivalents in every category but convenience.
It has lost some of its ungainly enthusiasm, its sloppy joy, its achingly self-conscious hipster attitude.
Historical Examples
The animal waddled toward the centre of the circle, short and squat and ungainly.
White FangJack London
It was ridiculous and ungainly, lying there on his back with legs sprawling in the air.
White FangJack London
Then, from the ungainly hoyden had been evolved this charming, delicate and lovely creature.
Doctor PascalEmile Zola
The ungainly little Scot did not leave the Wythburn district.
The Shadow of a CrimeHall Caine
Thousands of ungainly boats, rafts and scows were waiting to be launched.
The Trail of '98Robert W. Service
ungainly
- lacking grace when moving
- difficult to move or use; unwieldy
- rare crude or coarse
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- rare clumsily
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Word Origin
C17: from un- 1 + obsolete or dialect gainly graceful
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 ungainly
adj.
1610s, originally "unfit, improper," from Middle English ungeinliche, from ungein (c.1400) "inconvenient" (from un- (1) "not" + Old Norse gegn "convenient") + -like.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper