Synonyms for awkward
ˈɔk wərd

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. awkward(adj)

   causing inconvenience

   "they arrived at an awkward time"

   Synonyms:
   uneasy, inept, ill at ease(p), ill-chosen, inapt, ungainly, cumbersome, embarrassing, bunglesome, sticky, unenviable, clumsy

   Antonyms:
   graceful, convenient, smooth, lithesome, lissom, wieldy, willowy, gracile, gainly, fluid, comfortable, lissome, felicitous, fluent, svelte, liquid, sylphlike, elegant, supple, lithe, slender, easy

2. awkward(adj)

   lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance

   "an awkward dancer"; "an awkward gesture"; "too awkward with a needle to make her own clothes"; "his clumsy fingers produced an awkward knot"

   Synonyms:
   uneasy, inept, ill at ease(p), ill-chosen, inapt, ungainly, cumbersome, embarrassing, bunglesome, sticky, unenviable, clumsy

   Antonyms:
   liquid, lissom, lithe, supple, svelte, lissome, elegant, smooth, fluid, graceful, felicitous, sylphlike, easy, gracile, slender, comfortable, convenient, willowy, fluent, gainly, wieldy, lithesome

3. awkward, bunglesome, clumsy, ungainly(adj)

   difficult to handle or manage especially because of shape

   "an awkward bundle to carry"; "a load of bunglesome paraphernalia"; "clumsy wooden shoes"; "the cello, a rather ungainly instrument for a girl"

   Synonyms:
   unenviable, ungainly, ill-chosen, fumbling, clumsy, inapt, gawky, bunglesome, cumbersome, bungling, inept, incompetent, unwieldy, embarrassing, clunky, ill at ease(p), uneasy, sticky

   Antonyms:
   convenient, gracile, smooth, sylphlike, gainly, fluid, lissome, wieldy, easy, elegant, felicitous, willowy, fluent, slender, lithesome, graceful, svelte, liquid, lissom, comfortable, supple, lithe

4. awkward, clumsy, cumbersome, inapt, inept, ill-chosen(adj)

   not elegant or graceful in expression

   "an awkward prose style"; "a clumsy apology"; "his cumbersome writing style"; "if the rumor is true, can anything be more inept than to repeat it now?"

   Synonyms:
   cumbrous, unenviable, feckless, ungainly, ill-chosen, tactless, fumbling, clumsy, inapt, gawky, bunglesome, cumbersome, bungling, inept, incompetent, unwieldy, embarrassing, clunky, ill at ease(p), uneasy, sticky

   Antonyms:
   fluid, liquid, svelte, elegant, felicitous, lithe, gracile, supple, lissom, gainly, wieldy, lissome, comfortable, easy, willowy, convenient, slender, graceful, lithesome, smooth, sylphlike, fluent

5. awkward, embarrassing, sticky, unenviable(adj)

   hard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment

   "awkward (or embarrassing or difficult) moments in the discussion"; "an awkward pause followed his remark"; "a sticky question"; "in the unenviable position of resorting to an act he had planned to save for the climax of the campaign"

   Synonyms:
   mortifying, unenviable, ungainly, ill-chosen, clumsy, inapt, glutinous, mucilaginous, viscous, bunglesome, muggy, cumbersome, viscid, inept, embarrassing, gummy, ill at ease(p), gluey, pasty, uneasy, steamy, sticky

   Antonyms:
   lissome, wieldy, gainly, willowy, elegant, svelte, liquid, lithesome, slender, easy, supple, lissom, fluid, graceful, smooth, fluent, lithe, comfortable, gracile, felicitous, sylphlike, convenient

6. awkward, ill at ease(p), uneasy(adj)

   socially uncomfortable; unsure and constrained in manner

   "awkward and reserved at parties"; "ill at ease among eddies of people he didn't know"; "was always uneasy with strangers"

   Antonyms:
   fluent, sylphlike, easy, wieldy, slender, smooth, fluid, liquid, willowy, graceful, elegant, lissom, felicitous, convenient, svelte, lithesome, supple, comfortable, lithe, gracile, gainly, lissome

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate these synonyms:

1. awkward(adjective)

   Lacking dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments

   John was awkward at performing the trick. He'll have to practise to improve.

   Synonyms:
   unhandy, ungraceful, clumsy, lubberly

   Antonyms:
   skillful, graceful, gainly, dexterous

2. awkward(adjective)

   Lacking social skills, or uncomfortable with social interaction

   Synonyms:
   maladroit

   Antonyms:
   amiable, cool

English Synonyms and Antonyms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. awkward

   Awkward, from awk (kindred with off, from the Norwegian), is off-ward, turned the wrong way; it was anciently used of a back-handed or left-handed blow in battle, of squinting eyes, etc. Clumsy, on the other hand (from clumse, also through the Norwegian), signifies benumbed, stiffened with cold; this is the original meaning of clumsy fingers, clumsy limbs. Thus, awkward primarily refers to action, clumsy to condition. A tool, a vehicle, or the human frame may be clumsy in shape or build, awkward in motion. The clumsy man is almost of necessity awkward, but the awkward man may not be naturally clumsy. The finest untrained colt is awkward in harness; a horse that is clumsy in build can never be trained out of awkwardness. An awkward statement has an uncomfortable, and perhaps recoiling force; a statement that contains ill-assorted and incongruous material in ill-chosen language is clumsy. We speak of an awkward predicament, an awkward scrape. An awkward excuse commonly reflects on the one who offers it. We say the admitted facts have an awkward appearance. In none of these cases could clumsy be used. Clumsy is, however, applied to movements that seem as unsuitable as those of benumbed and stiffened limbs. A dancing bear is both clumsy and awkward.

   Synonyms:
   boorish, bungling, clownish, clumsy, gawky, maladroit, rough, uncouth, ungainly, unhandy, unskilful

   Antonyms:
   adroit, clever, dexterous, handy, skilful

   Preposition:
   The raw recruit is awkward in action; at the business.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. awkward

   Synonyms:
   ungainly, clownish, clumsy, maladroit, unhandy, uncouth, rough, boorish, bungling, gawky

   Antonyms:
   neat, clever, dexterous, skilful, adroit, handy

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. gouche

   Submitted by anonymous on December 28, 2020  

Dictionary of English Synonymes(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. awkward(a.)

   Synonyms:
   unskilful, bungling, unhandy, maladroit, inapt, without dexterity

2. awkward(a.)

   Synonyms:
   unwieldy, unmanageable, inconvenient, unfit, lumbering

3. awkward(a.)

   Synonyms:
   uncouth, unrefined, unpolished, uncourtly, rude, rough, clumsy, coarse, wooden, inelegant, ungainly, untoward, ungraceful, stiff, constrained, uneasy, rustic, boorish, clownish, loutish, gawky, lubberly, slouching

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. awkward(a)

   Synonyms:
   clumsy, ungraceful, bungling, maladroit, gawky, inelegant, ungainly, loutish, unskillful, unwieldy, uncourtly, embarrassing

   Antonyms:
   graceful, dexterous, deft, courtly, elegant, adroit, clever

PPDB, the paraphrase database(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these paraphrases:

1. List of paraphrases for "awkward":

   embarrassing, clumsy, uncomfortable, inconvenient, weird, delicate, strange, butterhook, difficult, unpleasant, embarrassed, cumbersome, troublesome, thankless, sensitive, odd, tricky

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How to use awkward in a sentence?

1. Rory McIlroy:

   I probably missed four or five yards right of where I needed to, and it came back down the hill, and then you're in an awkward spot.

2. John Alejandro King, a.k.a. The Covert Comic, www.covertcomic.com:

   You know what never gets awkward? Talking about things other people did that got awkward.

3. Dan Springer:

   It makes you feel, quite frankly, awkward, you don't want to think of yourself as benefiting from something so tremendously terrible for the world.

4. The United States ' lawyer:

   What Mr Assange seems to defend by freedom of speech is not the publication of the classified materials but the publication of the names of the sources, the names of people who had put themselves at risk to assist the United States and its allies, he was not charged with the disclosure of embarrassing or awkward information the government would rather not have disclosed.

5. Drew Barrymore:

   I wanted to make this movie because it taps into an emotion that everyone can identify with -- the awkward moments of our high school years. For Josie Geller, high school was a horrible, humiliating experience.

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