awkward as an adjective: - 1
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awkward
adjective
1 awkward
Causing inconvenience.
Roget 853:
ridiculous,
ludicrous;
comical;
droll,
funny,
laughable,
pour rire,
grotesque,
farcical,
odd;
whimsical,
whimsical as a dancing bear;
fanciful,
fantastic,
queer,
rum,
quizzical,
quaint,
bizarre;
screaming;
eccentric
etc.
(unconformable)
83;
strange,
outlandish,
out of the way,
baroque,
weird;
awkward
etc.
(ugly)
846.
extravagant,
outre,
monstrous,
preposterous,
bombastic,
inflated,
stilted,
burlesque,
mock heroic.
drollish;
seriocomic,
tragicomic;
gimcrack,
contemptible
etc.
(unimportant)
643;
doggerel;
ironical
etc.
(derisive)
856;
risible.
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Roget 851:
in bad taste vulgar,
unrefined.
coarse,
indecorous,
ribald,
gross;
unseemly,
unbeseeming†,
unpresentable†;
contra bonos mores [Lat.];
ungraceful
etc.
(ugly)
846.
dowdy;
slovenly
etc.
(dirty)
653;
ungenteel,
shabby genteel;
low,
common,
hoi polloi [Gr.],
etc.
(plebeian)
876;
uncourtly†;
uncivil
etc.
(discourteous)
895;
ill bred,
ill mannered;
underbred;
ungentlemanly,
ungentlemanlike;
unladylike,
unfeminine;
wild,
wild as an unbacked colt.
untutored,
unschooled
(ignorant)
491.
unkempt.
uncombed,
untamed,
unlicked†,
unpolished,
uncouth;
plebeian;
incondite†;
heavy,
rude,
awkward;
homely,
homespun,
home bred;
provincial,
countrified,
rustic;
boorish,
clownish;
savage,
brutish,
blackguard,
rowdy,
snobbish;
barbarous,
barbaric;
Gothic,
unclassical†,
doggerel,
heathenish,
tramontane,
outlandish;
uncultivated;
Bohemian.
obsolete
etc.
(antiquated)
124;
unfashionable;
newfangled
etc.
(unfamiliar)
83;
odd
etc.
(ridiculous)
853.
particular;
affected
etc.
855;
meretricious;
extravagant,
monstrous,
horrid;
shocking
etc.
(painful)
830.
gaudy,
tawdry,
overornamented,
baroque,
rococo;
bedizened,
tricked out,
gingerbread;
obtrusive.
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Roget 579:
inelegant,
graceless,
ungraceful;
harsh,
abrupt;
dry,
stiff,
cramped,
formal,
guinde [Fr.];
forced,
labored;
artificial,
mannered,
ponderous;
awkward,
uncourtly†,
unpolished;
turgid
etc.
577;
affected,
euphuistic†;
barbarous,
uncouth,
grotesque,
rude,
crude,
halting;
offensive to ears polite.
2.
Spoken Language
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2 awkward
Lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance.
3 awkward
Difficult to handle or manage especially because of shape:
— An awkward bundle to carry.
synonyms: bunglesome, clumsy, ungainly.
Roget 846:
ugly,
ugly as sin,
ugly as a toad,
ugly as a scarecrow,
ugly as a dead monkey;
plain,
bald
(unadorned)
849;
homely;
ordinary,
unornamental†,
inartistic;
unsightly,
unseemly,
uncomely,
unlovely;
unshapely;
sightless,
seemless†;
not fit to be seen;
unbeauteous†,
unbeautiful;
beautiless†,
semibeautiful;
shapeless
etc.
(amorphous)
241.
misshapen,
misproportioned†;
monstrous;
gaunt
etc.
(thin)
203;
dumpy
etc.
(short)
201;
curtailed of its fair proportions;
ill-made,
ill-shaped,
ill-proportioned;
crooked
etc.
(distorted)
243;
hard featured,
hard visaged;
ill-favored,
hard-favored,
evil-favored;
ill-looking;
unprepossessing,
unattractive,
uninviting,
unpleasing.
graceless,
inelegant;
ungraceful,
ungainly,
uncouth,
stiff;
rugged,
rough,
gross,
rude,
awkward,
clumsy,
slouching,
rickety;
gawky;
lumping,
lumpish†;
lumbering;
hulky†,
hulking;
unwieldy.
squalid,
haggard;
grim,
grim faced,
grim visaged;
grisly,
ghastly;
ghost like,
death like;
cadaverous,
grewsome†,
gruesome.
frightful,
hideous,
odious,
uncanny,
forbidding;
repellant,
repulsive,
repugnant,
grotesque,
bizarre;
grody [Coll.],
grody to the max [Coll.];
horrid,
horrible;
shocking
etc.
(painful)
830.
foul
etc.
(dirty)
653;
dingy
etc.
(colorless)
429;
gaudy
etc.
(color)
428;
disfigured
etc.
v.;
discolored.
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4 awkward
Not elegant or graceful in expression:
— An awkward prose style.
synonyms: clumsy, cumbersome, ill-chosen, inapt, inept.
Roget 647:
inexpedient,
undesirable;
unadvisable,
inadvisable;
objectionable;
inapt,
ineligible,
inadmissible,
inconvenient;
incommodious,
discommodious†;
disadvantageous;
inappropriate,
unfit
etc.
(inconsonant)
24.
ill-contrived,
ill-advised;
unsatisfactory;
unprofitable
&c.;
unsubservient
etc.
(useless)
645;
inopportune
etc.
(unseasonable)
135;
out of place,
in the wrong place;
improper,
unseemly.
clumsy,
awkward;
cumbrous,
cumbersome;
lumbering,
unwieldy,
hulky†;
unmanageable
etc.
(impracticable)
704;
impedient
etc.
(in the way)
706†.
unnecessary
etc.
(redundant)
641.
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Roget 830:
causing pain,
hurting
etc.
v.;
hurtful
etc.
(bad)
649;
painful;
dolorific†,
dolorous;
unpleasant;
unpleasing,
displeasing;
disagreeable,
unpalatable,
bitter,
distasteful;
uninviting;
unwelcome;
undesirable,
undesired;
obnoxious;
unacceptable,
unpopular,
thankless.
unsatisfactory,
untoward,
unlucky,
uncomfortable.
distressing;
afflicting,
afflictive;
joyless,
cheerless,
comfortless;
dismal,
disheartening;
depressing,
depressive;
dreary,
melancholy,
grievous,
piteous;
woeful,
rueful,
mournful,
deplorable,
pitiable,
lamentable;
sad,
affecting,
touching,
pathetic.
irritating,
provoking,
stinging,
annoying,
aggravating,
mortifying,
galling;
unaccommodating,
invidious,
vexatious;
troublesome,
tiresome,
irksome,
wearisome;
plaguing,
plaguy†;
awkward.
importunate;
teasing,
pestering,
bothering,
harassing,
worrying,
tormenting,
carking.
intolerable,
insufferable,
insupportable;
unbearable,
unendurable;
past bearing;
not to be borne,
not to be endured;
more than flesh and blood can bear;
enough to drive one mad,
enough to provoke a saint,
enough to make a parson swear,
enough to gag a maggot.
shocking,
terrific,
grim,
appalling,
crushing;
dreadful,
fearful,
frightful;
thrilling,
tremendous,
dire;
heart-breaking,
heart-rending,
heart-wounding,
heart-corroding,
heart-sickening;
harrowing,
rending.
odious,
hateful,
execrable,
repulsive,
repellent,
abhorrent;
horrid,
horrible,
horrific,
horrifying;
offensive.
nauseous,
nauseating;
disgusting,
sickening,
revolting;
nasty;
loathsome,
loathful†;
fulsome;
vile
etc.
(bad)
649;
hideous
etc.
846.
sharp,
acute,
sore,
severe,
grave,
hard,
harsh,
cruel,
biting,
caustic;
cutting,
corroding,
consuming,
racking,
excruciating,
searching,
grinding,
grating,
agonizing;
envenomed;
catheretic†,
pyrotic [Med.].
ruinous,
disastrous,
calamitous,
tragical;
desolating,
withering;
burdensome,
onerous,
oppressive;
cumbrous,
cumbersome.
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Roget 699:
unskillful
etc.
698;
inexpert;
bungling
etc.
v.;
awkward,
clumsy,
unhandy,
lubberly,
gauche,
maladroit;
left-handed,
heavy-handed;
slovenly,
slatternly;
gawky.
adrift,
at fault.
inapt,
unapt;
inhabile [Fr.];
untractable†,
unteachable;
giddy
etc.
(inattentive)
458;
inconsiderate
etc.
(neglectful)
460;
stupid
etc.
499;
inactive
etc.
683;
incompetent;
unqualified,
disqualified,
ill-qualified;
unfit;
quackish;
raw,
green,
inexperienced,
rusty,
out of practice.
unaccustomed,
unused,
untrained
etc.
537,
uninitiated,
unconversant
etc.
(ignorant)
491†;
shiftless;
unstatesmanlike.
unadvised;
ill-advised,
misadvised;
ill-devised,
ill-imagined,
ill-judged,
ill-contrived,
ill-conducted;
unguided,
misguided;
misconducted,
foolish,
wild;
infelicitous;
penny wise and pound foolish
etc.
(inconsistent)
608.
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5 awkward
Hard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment:
— Awkward (or embarrassing or difficult) moments in the discussion.
— An awkward pause followed his remark.
synonyms: embarrassing, sticky, unenviable.
Roget 704:
difficult,
not easy,
hard,
tough;
troublesome,
toilsome,
irksome;
operose†,
laborious,
onerous,
arduous,
Herculean,
formidable;
sooner said than done;
more easily said than done,
easier said than done.
difficult to deal with,
hard to deal with;
ill-conditioned,
crabbed,
crabby;
not to be handled with kid gloves,
not made with rose water.
awkward,
unwieldy,
unmanageable;
intractable,
stubborn
etc.
(obstinate)
606;
perverse,
refractory,
plaguy†,
trying,
thorny,
rugged;
knotted,
knotty;
invious†;
pathless,
trackless;
labyrinthine
etc.
(convoluted)
248;
intricate,
complicated
etc.
(tangled)
59;
impracticable
etc.
(impossible)
471;
not feasible
etc.
470;
desperate
etc.
(hopeless)
859.
embarrassing,
perplexing
etc.
(uncertain)
475;
delicate,
ticklish,
critical;
beset with difficulties,
full of difficulties,
surrounded by difficulties,
entangled by difficulties,
encompassed with difficulties.
under a difficulty;
in a box;
in difficulty,
in hot water,
in the suds,
in a cleft stick,
in a fix,
in the wrong box,
in a scrape
etc.
n.,
in deep water,
in a fine pickle;
in extremis;
between two stools,
between Scylla and Charybdis;
surrounded by shoals,
surrounded by breakers,
surrounded by quicksands;
at cross purposes;
not out of the wood.
reduced to straits;
hard pressed,
sorely pressed;
run hard;
pinched,
put to it,
straitened;
hard up,
hard put to it,
hard set;
put to one's shifts;
puzzled,
at a loss,
etc.
(uncertain)
475;
at the end of one's tether,
at the end of one's rope,
at one's wit's end,
at a nonplus,
at a standstill;
graveled,
nonplused,
nonplussed,
stranded,
aground;
stuck fast,
set fast;
up a tree,
at bay,
aux abois [Fr.],
driven into a corner,
driven from pillar to post,
driven to extremity,
driven to one's wit's end,
driven to the wall;
au bout de son Latin;
out of one's depth;
thrown out.
accomplished with difficulty;
hard-fought,
hard-earned.
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Polish: niezręczny
6 awkward
Socially uncomfortable; unsure and constrained in manner:
— Awkward and reserved at parties.
synonyms: ill at ease, uneasy.
Moby thesaurus: Latinate, all thumbs, blankminded, blunderheaded, blundering, bombastic, boorish, bulky, bumbling, bungling, butterfingered, callow, careless, clownish, clumsy, clumsy-fisted, confused, contrary, cramped, crosswise, crushing, cumbersome, cumbrous, dangerous, delicate, difficult, discomfited, discommodious, disconcerted, disconcerting, disturbing, dumb, elephantine, embarrassed, embarrassing, empty, empty-headed, fingers all thumbs, forced, formal, fumbling, gauche, gawkish, gawky, graceless, green, groping, guinde, halting, ham-fisted, ham-handed, hazardous, heavy, heavy-handed, hulking, hulky, humiliating, ignorant, ill at ease, ill-chosen, impractical, inane, incommodious, inconvenient, inefficient, inelegant, inept, inexperienced, inexpert, inkhorn, innocent, know-nothing, labored, leaden, left-hand, left-handed, loutish, lubberly, lumbering, lumpish, lumpy, maladroit, massive, massy, mortifying, naive, nescient, oafish, out of place, perilous, perverse, pompous, ponderous, precarious, raw, rigid, risky, sensitive, sesquipedalian, shamefaced, simple, sloppy, splay, sticky, stiff, stilted, strange to, tentative, ticklish, touchy, tricky, troublesome, trying, turgid, unacquainted, unapprized, uncomfortable, uncomprehending, unconversant, uncouth, undexterous, uneasy, unenlightened, unfamiliar, unfortunate, ungainly, ungraceful, unhandy, unhappy, unilluminated, uninformed, uninitiated, unintelligent, unknowing, unmanageable, unpleasant, unposted, unripe, unskilled, unskillful, unsure, unversed, unwieldy, vacuous, wooden ... show more.
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