awkward

Meaning

Adj

1. Lacking dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments.
2. Not easily managed or effected; embarrassing.
3. Lacking social skills, or uncomfortable with social interaction.
4. Perverse; adverse; difficult to handle.

Noun

Someone or something that is awkward.

Opposite of

dexterous, gainly, graceful, handy, skillful, amiable, cool

Synonyms

clumsy

ungainly

embarrassing

uncomfortable

cumbersome

inept

maladroit

inconvenient

unskillful

unskilful

unwieldy

difficult

uneasy

stupid

lubberly

gauche

bulky

stiff

inapt

unskilled

ungraceful

inexpert

lumbering

heavy

silly

slow

dull

cack-handed

bunglesome

bumbling

crude

uncouth

hard

sticky

tough

embarrassed

bad

👎

gawky

ponderous

heavy-handed

graceless

poor

sluggish

unenviable

clownish

massive

nasty

lumpish

artless

odd

Translations

peinlich

maladroit

ungeschickt

imbarazzante

goffo

gauche

impacciato

embarazoso

umständlich

torpe

maldestro

αδέξιος

incommode

unbeholfen

linkisch

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɔːkwəd/

Etymology

From awk (“odd, clumsy”) + -ward. Compare Middle English aukeward (“in the wrong direction”).