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.
Wiktionary
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, unhandyawkwardadjective
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
Princeton's WordNet
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, clumsyAntonyms:
graceful, convenient, smooth, lithesome, lissom, wieldy, willowy, gracile, gainly, fluid, comfortable, lissome, felicitous, fluent, svelte, liquid, sylphlike, elegant, supple, lithe, slender, easyawkwardadjective
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, 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, 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-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, 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, 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, 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), 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 Contribution
gouche
Dictionary of English Synonymes
awkwardadjective
Synonyms:
unskilful, bungling, unhandy, maladroit, inapt, without dexterityawkwardadjective
Synonyms:
unwieldy, unmanageable, inconvenient, unfit, lumberingawkwardadjective
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?
It was a very awkward situation, the colonial government's department of conservation started opening up pots in the local communities to see what was in those pots.
Many great writers have been extraordinarily awkward in daily exchange, but the greatest give the impression that their style was nursed by the closest attention to colloquial speech.
People love to admit they have bad handwriting or that they can't do math. And they will readily admit to being awkward 'I'm such a klutz' But they will never admit to having a poor sense of humor or being a bad driver.
I rated him quite highly, he was quiet, definitely socially awkward, but someone who had the caliber to join the program.
Husbands are awkward things to deal with even keeping them in hot water will not make them tender.
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
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