awkward

[ awk-werd ]

/ ˈɔk wərd /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR awkward ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

lacking skill or dexterity.

lacking grace or ease in movement: an awkward gesture; an awkward dancer.

lacking social graces or manners: a simple, awkward frontiersman.

not well planned or designed for easy or effective use: an awkward instrument; an awkward method.

requiring caution; somewhat hazardous: an awkward turn in the road.

hard to deal with; difficult; requiring skill, tact, or the like: an awkward situation; an awkward customer.

embarrassing or inconvenient; caused by lack of social grace: an awkward moment.

Obsolete. untoward; perverse.

Origin of awkward

1300–50; Middle English, equivalent to awk(e), auk(e) ‘backhanded’, Old English *afoc (< Old Norse ǫfugr ‘turned the wrong way’; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German abuh, Old English afu(h)lic ‘wrong’, off) + -ward -ward

OTHER WORDS FROM awkward

awk·ward·ly, adverb awk·ward·ness, noun un·awk·ward, adjective un·awk·ward·ly, adverb

un·awk·ward·ness, noun

Words nearby awkward

awfully, awhato, awheel, awhile, awhirl, awkward, awkward age, awl, awl snail, awl-shaped, awless

Example sentences from the Web for awkwardness

In a romantic relationship, facing humiliation or awkwardness is a strong possibility.

Random Hook-Ups or Dry Spells: Why Millennials Flunk College Dating |Ellie Schaack |January 1, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Now for the complications and awkwardness, to say nothing of elbows and gossip and rivalries and all that other stuff.

A City Hall Affair to Remember |Lloyd Grove |October 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
With two Texans in the running as potential candidates, Sessions sought to diffuse any awkwardness.

Republicans Panicked After Eric Cantor Loss: ‘This Is Like Robespierre’ |Ben Jacobs, Tim Mak |June 11, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Rather, he dishes up a seemingly endless stream of examples of pettiness, irritation, hypocrisy and awkwardness.

Fear And Self-Loathing In Scandinavia: The Fiction Of Karl Ove Knausgaard |Ted Gioia |May 28, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

That is the awkwardness of testifying about intelligence matters in public.

Spy Chief James Clapper: We Can’t Stop Another Snowden |Eli Lake |February 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
His awkwardness disappeared; and if he was a little bombastic, a little "young," he spoke with the fire of conviction.

A Far Country, Complete |Winston Churchill
Ruth bemoaned again her awkwardness in breaking the tea-cups; for now they had to sip the infusion of leaves from cockle-shells.

The Kangaroo Hunters |Anne Bowman
The boy's awkwardness seems to infect her, too, for a moment.

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 92, June, 1865 |Various
There was not the faintest trace of awkwardness about her, yet Shelton could not help a certain sense of shock.

The Island Pharisees |John Galsworthy
It seemed to me, looking on with a few others at the door, that there was a kind of awkwardness or constraint among the company.

The Lady of Lynn |Walter Besant

British Dictionary definitions for awkwardness

awkward

/ (ˈɔːkwəd) /

adjective

lacking dexterity, proficiency, or skill; clumsy; inept the new recruits were awkward in their exercises

ungainly or inelegant in movements or posture despite a great deal of practice she remained an awkward dancer

unwieldy; difficult to use an awkward implement

embarrassing an awkward moment

embarrassed he felt awkward about leaving

difficult to deal with; requiring tact an awkward situation; an awkward customer

deliberately uncooperative or unhelpful he could help but he is being awkward

dangerous or difficult an awkward ascent of the ridge

obsolete perverse

Derived forms of awkward

awkwardly, adverb awkwardness, noun

Word Origin for awkward

C14 awk, from Old Norse öfugr turned the wrong way round + -ward

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

awkward

adjective

Origin of awkward

OTHER WORDS FROM awkward

Words nearby awkward

Example sentences from the Web for awkwardness

British Dictionary definitions for awkwardness

adjective

Derived forms of awkward

Word Origin for awkward

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

awkward

adjective

Origin of awkward

OTHER WORDS FROM awkward

Words nearby awkward

Words related to awkwardness

Example sentences from the Web for awkwardness

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adjective

Derived forms of awkward

Word Origin for awkward

British Dictionary definitions for awkwardness