awkward
(Informal)
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- clumsy, gauche, gawky, inelegant, lumbering, uncoordinated, ungainly
- unmanageable, clunky (informal), cumbersome, difficult, inconvenient, troublesome, unwieldy
- embarrassing, delicate, difficult, ill at ease, inconvenient, uncomfortable

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Antonyms: deft, graceful
Contrasted words: adept, adroit, dexterous, expert, finished, polished, proficient, skilled, skillful, smooth, easy, effortless, facile, simple
Related Idioms: all thumbs
Related Words: blundering, bumbling, bungling, clownish, lubberly, oafish, cumbrous, hulking, ponderous, rigid, stiff, discomfited, disconcerted, embarrassed, bunglesome, inefficient, inexpert, unskillful

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English Thesaurus: clumsy, awkward, ungainly, uncoordinated, accident-prone, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

awk‧ward S3 /ˈɔːkwəd $ ˈɒːkwərd/ adjective
[Date: 1500-1600; Origin: awk 'turned the wrong way' (15-17 centuries) (from Old Norse öfugr) + -ward]

1. making you feel embarrassed so that you are not sure what to do or say Synonym : difficult:
I hoped he would stop asking awkward questions.
There was an awkward moment when she didn’t know whether to shake his hand or kiss his cheek.
an awkward silence
A laugh can help people over an awkward situation.
Philip’s remarks put her in an awkward position (=made it difficult for her to know what to do).

2. not relaxed or comfortable:
She liked to dance but felt awkward if someone was watching her.
Geoff looked uneasy and awkward.
Make sure that the baby is not sleeping in an awkward position.

3. difficult to do, use, or deal with:
It’ll be awkward getting cars in and out.
The new financial arrangements were awkward to manage.
A good carpenter can make a cupboard to fit the most awkward space.
She was afraid he was going to ask an awkward question.

4. not convenient:
I’m sorry to call at such an awkward time but I won’t keep you a minute.

5. an awkward person is deliberately unhelpful Synonym : difficult
awkward about
The staff wanted to go home and they were getting awkward about a meeting starting so late.
an awkward customer (=person who is difficult and unhelpful)
—awkwardly adverb:
‘I’m very sorry about your sister,’ he said awkwardly.
Vera smiled awkwardly.
—awkwardness noun [uncountable]:
He tried to smooth over the awkwardness of the situation.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

awkward
adj.
I. difficult
VERBS be, look, seem | make sth
ADV. extremely, very | a bit, rather, slightly, somewhat She asked some rather awkward questions.
PHRASES make things awkward He could make things very awkward for me if he wanted to.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

awkward
II. not relaxed
VERBS be, feel, look | become | make sb He was embarrassed, which made him awkward.
ADV. extremely, very | a bit, rather | painfully As a teenager he was painfully awkward in company.
PREP. about They felt awkward about having to leave so soon.
with She is awkward with people she doesn't know.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

clumsy adjective moving or doing things in a careless way, especially so that you drop things, knock into things etc:
She was very clumsy and was always walking into doors.
With clumsy fingers he took out a pack of cigarettes and tried to light one.
awkward adjective moving in a way that does not seem relaxed or comfortable:
Her husband always looked a bit awkward when he was dancing.
an awkward teenager
ungainly adjective moving in a way that is not graceful – used especially about people or things that are big:
The ostrich is rather an ungainly bird.
She collapsed into the chair in an ungainly manner.
uncoordinated adjective not able to control your movements very well, and therefore not very good at physical activities:
When she first starting playing tennis, her movements were slow and uncoordinated.
accident-prone adjective often having accidents:
I was very accident-prone as a child and was always having to go to hospital.
be all fingers and thumbs British English informal, be all thumbs American English informal to be unable to control your fingers very well, so that you cannot do something:
‘Do you want some help unwrapping that?’ ‘Yes please, I’m all fingers and thumbs today.’

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

difficult not easy to do, understand, or deal with:
a difficult question
The homework was really difficult.
It is difficult to see how peace can be achieved in the region.
hard difficult. Hard is less formal than difficult and is very common in spoken English:
The test was really hard.
a hard decision
It was hard to forgive him.
tough very difficult, because you have to use a lot of effort, or because it affects you emotionally:
a tough race
Doctors have to make tough decisions about who to treat first.
The team faces some tough competition.
Life is tough sometimes.
tricky difficult because it is complicated and full of problems:
She had helped him out of a tricky situation.
Merging the two companies was bound to be tricky.
awkward rather difficult to deal with – used especially when something could be embarrassing:
You’ve put me in a very awkward position.
It was getting dark and foggy, which made the rescue even more awkward.
challenging difficult in an interesting or enjoyable way:
I wanted a job that was more challenging.
a challenging piece of music
demanding difficult and tiring, because it takes a lot of effort:
Being a nurse in a busy hospital is a demanding job.
it can be very demanding bringing up young children.
daunting if something seems daunting, you think that it will be difficult and you do not feel confident about being able to do it:
a daunting challenge
The task seemed a little daunting at first.
delicate needing to be dealt with carefully or sensitively, especially in order to avoid offending people or causing problems:
This is a very delicate subject, and it can be difficult to talk about it with your parents.
He thanked me for the way in which this delicate matter had been handled.
tough question/decision/job/game/race

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

embarrassed feeling uncomfortable or nervous and worrying about what people think of you, for example because you have made a silly mistake, or because you have to talk or sing in public:
I was really embarrassed when I arrived at the party an hour early.
There’s no need to be embarrassed – you’ve got a lovely voice.
self-conscious embarrassed about your body or the way you look or talk:
Paul had always been self-conscious about his big feet.
uncomfortable unable to relax because you are embarrassed and not sure what to say or do:
There was a long silence and everyone at the table looked uncomfortable.
awkward /ˈɔːkwəd $ ˈɒːkwərd/ feeling embarrassed because you are in a situation in which it is difficult to behave naturally:
Teenagers often feel awkward in formal social situations.
There were some awkward moments when neither of us knew what to say to each other.
sheepish slightly embarrassed because you know that you have done something silly or because you feel a little guilty:
Nigel came in late looking sheepish and apologetic.
red-faced embarrassed or ashamed – used mainly in newspaper reports:
A judge was left red-faced when his mobile phone rang in court.
mortified [not before noun] extremely embarrassed and ashamed because you realize that you have done something very silly or wrong:
He said he was mortified at the way his comments had been reported in the papers.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲