What are some alternative words for awkward?
Synonyms for awkward
ˈɔk wərd
This thesaurus page is about all possible synonyms, equivalent, same meaning and similar words for the term awkward.
Princeton's WordNet
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, clumsyAntonyms:
graceful, convenient, smooth, lithesome, lissom, wieldy, willowy, gracile, gainly, fluid, comfortable, lissome, felicitous, fluent, svelte, liquid, sylphlike, elegant, supple, lithe, slender, easyawkward(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, clumsyAntonyms:
liquid, lissom, lithe, supple, svelte, lissome, elegant, smooth, fluid, graceful, felicitous, sylphlike, easy, gracile, slender, comfortable, convenient, willowy, fluent, gainly, wieldy, lithesomeawkward, 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, stickyAntonyms:
convenient, gracile, smooth, sylphlike, gainly, fluid, lissome, wieldy, easy, elegant, felicitous, willowy, fluent, slender, lithesome, graceful, svelte, liquid, lissom, comfortable, supple, litheawkward, 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, stickyAntonyms:
fluid, liquid, svelte, elegant, felicitous, lithe, gracile, supple, lissom, gainly, wieldy, lissome, comfortable, easy, willowy, convenient, slender, graceful, lithesome, smooth, sylphlike, fluentawkward, 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, stickyAntonyms:
lissome, wieldy, gainly, willowy, elegant, svelte, liquid, lithesome, slender, easy, supple, lissom, fluid, graceful, smooth, fluent, lithe, comfortable, gracile, felicitous, sylphlike, convenientawkward, 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
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, lubberlyawkward(adjective)
Lacking social skills, or uncomfortable with social interaction
Synonyms:
maladroit
English Synonyms and Antonyms
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, unskilfulAntonyms:
adroit, clever, dexterous, handy, skilfulPreposition:
The raw recruit is awkward in action; at the business.
Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms
Editors Contribution
gouche
Dictionary of English Synonymes
awkward(a.)
Synonyms:
unskilful, bungling, unhandy, maladroit, inapt, without dexterityawkward(a.)
Synonyms:
unwieldy, unmanageable, inconvenient, unfit, lumberingawkward(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
PPDB, the paraphrase database
List of paraphrases for "awkward":
embarrassing, clumsy, uncomfortable, inconvenient, weird, delicate, strange, butterhook, difficult, unpleasant, embarrassed, cumbersome, troublesome, thankless, sensitive, odd, tricky
Words popularity by usage frequency
ranking | word | |
---|---|---|
#1928 | difficult | |
#3826 | sensitive | |
#3929 | strange | |
#5451 | odd | |
#5548 | rough | |
#5549 | weird | |
#9246 | sticky | |
#11658 | delicate | |
#13845 | uncomfortable | |
#15928 | tricky | |
#17452 | awkward | |
#18616 | unpleasant | |
#19258 | embarrassing | |
#20401 | embarrassed | |
#24911 | incompetent | |
#26847 | troublesome | |
#27419 | cumbersome | |
#27699 | uneasy | |
#28776 | clumsy | |
#32670 | viscous | |
#32934 | inconvenient | |
#35414 | steamy | |
#41493 | inept | |
#55158 | gummy | |
#57710 | fumbling | |
#58332 | clunky | |
#58750 | unwieldy | |
#61729 | pasty | |
#94560 | thankless | |
#98549 | uncouth | |
#108120 | bungling | |
#111317 | muggy | |
#115658 | feckless | |
#116018 | unenviable | |
#117069 | boorish | |
#121797 | ungainly | |
#135252 | glutinous | |
#178788 | mortifying | |
#186155 | tactless | |
#196750 | maladroit | |
#197054 | gawky | |
#237471 | clownish | |
#264062 | viscid | |
#269307 | ungraceful | |
#287299 | mucilaginous | |
#291589 | inapt | |
#320960 | gluey | |
#325606 | cumbrous |
How to use awkward in a sentence?
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.
(It's) very surreal, very awkward (to be at the premiere), but (it's) also a moment to be pleased that people are talking about her in the right light and people are thinking about her in the right way.
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.
We just don't know what to say as a culture. It's not something we are taught, people You are terrified of saying the wrong thing or making it worse or feeling awkward, and awkwardness is scary for People You. I wanted to make a book that was attractive to people who would be scared off by a self-help book.
How can you live with yourself ? You ruined my life, i was not ready for the photograph. I admit it was awkward but I never grabbed her. It’s not even close to what happened.
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
Get even more translations for awkward »
Translation
Find a translation for the awkward synonym in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add these synonyms to your bibliography:
"awkward." Synonyms.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2021. Web. 25 Feb. 2021. <https://www.synonyms.com/synonym/awkward>.