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Definitions

awkward

[awk-werd] / ˈɔk wərd /
ADJECTIVE
clumsy, inelegant
Synonyms
STRONGEST
amateurish rude stiff
WEAK
all thumbs artless blundering bulky bumbling bungling butterfingers coarse floundering gawky graceless green having two left feet having two left hands incompetent inept inexpert klutzy lumbering maladroit oafish stumbling uncoordinated uncouth unfit ungainly ungraceful unhandy unpolished unrefined unskilled unskillful
Antonyms
WEAK
adroit artful clever convenient dexterous easy elegant graceful handy skillful straightforward
ADJECTIVE
difficult to handle
Synonyms
STRONGEST
annoying cumbersome dangerous inconvenient perilous risky troublesome uncomfortable unwieldy
WEAK
bulky chancy cramped disagreeable discommodious hard to use hazardous incommodious unhandy unmanageable
Antonyms
STRONGEST
convenient easy helpful safe secure
WEAK
adroit artful clever dexterous elegant graceful handy skillful straightforward
ADJECTIVE
embarrassing
Synonyms
STRONGEST
delicate difficult embarrassed inconvenient painful ticklish troublesome uncomfortable unpleasant
WEAK
compromising ill at ease inopportune perplexing sticky thorny trying untimely
Antonyms
STRONGEST
delightful easy helpful painless pleasant straightforward
WEAK
adroit artful clever convenient dexterous elegant graceful handy skillful

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.

Materne also highlighted that an awkward transition is taking shape, as software stocks go from being growth- or momentum-oriented plays to being value stocks.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

In 2011, she notoriously told Jay Leno that she was too awkward for dating.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Mr. Klingbeil is a co-leader of the center-left Social Democratic Party, or SPD, which is the junior partner in an awkward governing condominium with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right Christian Democrats.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

Domestically, Lawrence Okolie, with his awkward, grappling-heavy style, could offer a different kind of challenge.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

At first, I felt self-conscious, worried about waking the others, and awkward eating alone in their midst, but I needn’t have worried.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Vocabulary lists containing awkward

The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 3

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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words

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English Words Derived from Old Norse

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