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awkward - 4 dictionary results

awk⋅ward

  [awk-werd]
Use awkward in a Sentence
–adjective
1. lacking skill or dexterity; clumsy.
2. lacking grace or ease in movement: an awkward gesture; an awkward dancer.
3. lacking social graces or manners: a simple, awkward frontiersman.
4. not well planned or designed for easy or effective use: an awkward instrument; an awkward method.
5. requiring caution; somewhat hazardous; dangerous: an awkward turn in the road.
6. hard to deal with; difficult; requiring skill, tact, or the like: an awkward situation; an awkward customer.
7. embarrassing or inconvenient; caused by lack of social grace: an awkward moment
8. Obsolete. untoward; perverse.
Origin:
1300–50; ME, equiv. to awk(e), auk(e) backhanded, OE *afoc (< ON ǫfugr turned the wrong way; c. OS, OHG abuh, OE afu(h)lic wrong, off ) + -ward -ward

Related forms:
awk⋅ward⋅ly, adverb
awk⋅ward⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. unskillful, unhandy, inexpert.

Antonyms:
1. deft, adroit. 2. graceful.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To awkward
awk·ward   (ôk'wərd)   
adj.  
  1. Not graceful; ungainly.
    1. Not dexterous; clumsy.
    2. Clumsily or unskillfully performed: The opera was marred by an awkward aria.
    3. Difficult to handle or manage: an awkward bundle to carry.
    4. Difficult to effect; uncomfortable: an awkward pose.
    5. Marked by or causing embarrassment or discomfort: an awkward remark; an awkward silence.
    6. Requiring great tact, ingenuity, skill, and discretion: An awkward situation arose during the peace talks.
    1. Difficult to handle or manage: an awkward bundle to carry.
    2. Difficult to effect; uncomfortable: an awkward pose.
    3. Marked by or causing embarrassment or discomfort: an awkward remark; an awkward silence.
    4. Requiring great tact, ingenuity, skill, and discretion: An awkward situation arose during the peace talks.
    1. Marked by or causing embarrassment or discomfort: an awkward remark; an awkward silence.
    2. Requiring great tact, ingenuity, skill, and discretion: An awkward situation arose during the peace talks.

[Middle English awkeward, in the wrong way : awke, wrong (from Old Norse öfugr, backward; see apo- in Indo-European roots) + -ward, -ward.]
awk'ward·ly adv., awk'ward·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Awkward

Awk"ward\, a. [Awk + -ward.]

1. Wanting dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments; not dexterous; without skill; clumsy; wanting ease, grace, or effectiveness in movement; ungraceful; as, he was awkward at a trick; an awkward boy.

And dropped an awkward courtesy. --Dryden.

2. Not easily managed or effected; embarrassing.

A long and awkward process. --Macaulay.

An awkward affair is one that has gone wrong, and is difficult to adjust. --C. J. Smith.

3. Perverse; adverse; untoward. [Obs.] "Awkward casualties." "Awkward wind." --Shak.

O blind guides, which being of an awkward religion, do strain out a gnat, and swallow up a cancel. --Udall.

Syn: Ungainly; unhandy; clownish; lubberly; gawky; maladroit; bungling; inelegant; ungraceful; unbecoming.

Usage: Awkward, Clumsy, Uncouth. Awkward has a special reference to outward deportment. A man is clumsy in his whole person, he is awkward in his gait and the movement of his limbs. Clumsiness is seen at the first view. Awkwardness is discovered only when a person begins to move. Hence the expressions, a clumsy appearance, and an awkward manner. When we speak figuratively of an awkward excuse, we think of a want of ease and grace in making it; when we speak of a clumsy excuse, we think of the whole thing as coarse and stupid. We apply the term uncouth most frequently to that which results from the want of instruction or training; as, uncouth manners; uncouth language. -- Awk"ward*ly, adv. -- Awk"ward*ness, n.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : awkward
Spanish: patoso, desgarbado, torpe,
German: ungeschickt,
Japanese: ぎこちない
More Translations »

awkward 
1340, "in the wrong direction," from awk "back-handed" (obsolete since 1600s), from O.N. afugr "turned backwards" (from P.Gmc. *afug-, from PIE *apu-ko-, from base *apo- "off, away;" see apo-) + adverbial suffix -weard. Meaning "clumsy" first recorded 1530.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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