Lacking grace in movement or posture:
— A gawky lad with long ungainly legs.
— What an ungainly creature a giraffe is.

synonyms: clumsy, clunky, gawky, unwieldy.

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.    ... show more

Roget 895: discourteous, uncourteous^†; uncourtly^†; ill-bred, ill-mannered, ill-behaved, ill-conditioned; unbred; unmannerly, unmannered; impolite, unpolite^†; unpolished, uncivilized, ungenteel; ungentleman-like, ungentlemanly; unladylike; blackguard; vulgar etc. 851; dedecorous^†; foul-mouthed foul-spoken; abusive.    uncivil, ungracious, unceremonious; cool; pert, forward, obtrusive, impudent, rude, saucy, precocious.    repulsive; uncomplaisant^†, unaccommodating, unneighborly, ungallant; inaffable^†; ungentle, ungainly; rough, rugged, bluff, blunt, gruff; churlish, boorish, bearish; brutal, brusque; stern, harsh, austere; cavalier.    taint, sour, crabbed, sharp, short, trenchant, sarcastic, biting, doggish, caustic, virulent, bitter, acrimonious, venomous, contumelious; snarling etc. v.; surly, surly as a bear; perverse; grim, sullen etc. 901.1; peevish etc. (irascible) 901.    untactful, impolitic, undiplomatic; artless etc. 703; ... show more

Polish: niezgrabny, niezdarny, niezręczny

Difficult to handle or manage especially because of shape:
— The cello, a rather ungainly instrument for a girl.

synonyms: awkward, bunglesome, clumsy.