What is another word for awkward?

Synonyms for awkward
ˈɔk wərdawk·ward

This thesaurus page includes all potential synonyms, words with the same meaning and similar terms for the word awkward.

Wiktionary5.0 / 1 vote

  1. awkwardadjective

    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:
    lubberly, clumsy, ungraceful, unhandy

    Antonyms:
    skillful, dexterous, gainly, graceful

  2. awkwardadjective

    Lacking social skills, or uncomfortable with social interaction

    Synonyms:
    maladroit

    Antonyms:
    amiable, cool

English Synonyms and Antonyms0.0 / 0 votes

  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 Antonyms0.0 / 0 votes

  1. awkward

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

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

Princeton's WordNet0.0 / 0 votes

  1. awkwardadjective

    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. awkwardadjective

    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, ungainlyadjective

    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-chosenadjective

    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, unenviableadjective

    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), uneasyadjective

    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

Editors Contribution0.0 / 0 votes

  1. gouche

    Submitted by anonymous on December 28, 2020  

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words0.0 / 0 votes

  1. awkwardadjective

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

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

How to pronounce awkward?

How to say awkward in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

Words popularity by usage frequency

rankingword
#1928difficult
#3826sensitive
#3929strange
#5451odd
#5548rough
#5549weird
#9246sticky
#11658delicate
#13845uncomfortable
#15928tricky
#17452awkward
#18616unpleasant
#19258embarrassing
#20401embarrassed
#24911incompetent
#26847troublesome
#27419cumbersome
#27699uneasy
#28776clumsy
#32670viscous
#32934inconvenient
#35414steamy
#41493inept
#55158gummy
#57710fumbling
#58332clunky
#58750unwieldy
#61729pasty
#94560thankless
#98549uncouth
#108120bungling
#111317muggy
#115658feckless
#116018unenviable
#117069boorish
#121797ungainly
#135252glutinous
#178788mortifying
#186155tactless
#196750maladroit
#197054gawky
#237471clownish
#264062viscid
#269307ungraceful
#287299mucilaginous
#291589inapt
#320960gluey
#325606cumbrous

How to use awkward in a sentence?

  1. Geoff Ogilvy:

    They are just quality holes out there, it's an incredible bunch of holes on not an amazing piece of land, really, compared it to a lot of other great courses. Cool and interesting stuff uphill, downhill, Geoff Ogilvy have to move the ball both ways, awkward angles. It's just a great golf course, really. And it's immaculate this year. Nobody likes the drought in California, but it's good for a course like this to dry out a little bit.

  2. Melissa Kester:

    I felt awkward, it’s a little weird. He’s hugging me while he’s singing. But ha ha ha, it’s all a joke. My boyfriend is right there.

  3. Rachel Kowert:

    In spite of the stereotype of the socially awkward pale gamer, Video Games are a good way to socially connect.

  4. Frederic Neumann:

    China's demand stumble comes at an awkward time, just when more and more supply of raw materials is coming on stream in many sectors. No quick fix in sight, china's stock market stumble now risks knocking demand down further. What all this points to is the need for a lot more easing, including extra fiscal spending. China's economy is highly dependent on construction. With that engine sputtering, mainland commodity demand will struggle to make headway for a while.

  5. Joe Brettell:

    There's always a desire in highly staged events like these debates especially to try to capture that human moment, it is very difficult for a candidate who has been coached for months to have three talking points and an anecdote to then at the end of the debate, while fully mentally exhausted, relate something that is often actually awkward.


Translations for awkward

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • غير ملائمArabic
  • неприятен, неудобен, несръчен, неловък, непохватенBulgarian
  • maldestreCatalan, Valencian
  • nešikovný, neobratný, nepříjemný, nepříjemnéCzech
  • akavetDanish
  • Umstände machend, unangenehm, verkorkst, betreten, peinlich, ungelenk, umständlich, unbeholfen, ungeschickt, beklemmend, verdreht, tölpelhaft, tollpatschigGerman
  • αδέξιοςGreek
  • senaplombiga, konsterna, maloportuna, mallertaEsperanto
  • desmañado, torpe, delicado, embarazosoSpanish
  • بی دست و پا - به شکلی نامناسبPersian
  • kiusallinen, hankala, vaikea, piinallinen, yököttävä, kömpelö, vastenmielinen, tuskallinenFinnish
  • inconvenant, embarrassant, maladroit, gênantFrench
  • anástaIrish
  • भद्दाHindi
  • kínosHungarian
  • canggungIndonesian
  • klunnalegur, pínlegur, vandræðalegurIcelandic
  • maldestro, scomodo, delicato, poco opportuno, imbarazzato, impacciato, inopportuno, imbarazzante, difficile, poco maneggevole, goffoItalian
  • מוזרHebrew
  • ぎごちない, 不器用, 厄介なJapanese
  • ಪೇಚಿನKannada
  • 어색한Korean
  • inconcinnusLatin
  • tahangoiMāori
  • незгоден, терсенеMacedonian
  • genant, ongemakkelijk, onhandigDutch
  • pinlig, klønete, klumseteNorwegian
  • nieprzyjemny, nieśmiały, niezręcznyPolish
  • desconcertante, constrangedor, desajeitado, incómodo, bisonhoPortuguese
  • incomodRomanian
  • неловкий, неуклюжий, затруднительный, неудобный, неловкоRussian
  • genant, pinsam, besvärligSwedish
  • விகாரமானTamil
  • ఇబ్బందికరమైనTelugu
  • kullanışsız, beceriksiz, sakar, uygunsuz, garipTurkish
  • незграбнийUkrainian
  • عجیبUrdu
  • lúng túngVietnamese
  • ומגעלומפּערטYiddish
  • 尷尬Chinese

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Translation

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"awkward." Synonyms.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 15 Feb. 2025. <https://www.synonyms.com/synonym/awkward>.

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