What does awkward mean?
Definitions for awkward
ˈɔk wərdawk·ward
Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word awkward.
Princeton's WordNet
awkwardadjective
causing inconvenience
"they arrived at an awkward time"
awkwardadjective
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"
awkward, 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"
awkward, 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?"
awkward, 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"
awkward, 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"
Wiktionary
awkwardadverb
In a backwards direction.
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.
awkwardadjective
Not easily managed or effected; embarrassing
That was an extremely awkward moment. Everyone was watching.
awkwardadjective
Lacking social skills, or uncomfortable with social interaction
awkwardadjective
Perverse; adverse; difficult to handle
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Awkwardadjective
Etymology: [ æward, Saxon; that is, backward, untoward.
Proud Italy,
Whose manners still our tardy, apish nation
Limps after in base awkward imitation. William Shakespeare, Rich. II.Their own language is worthy their care; and they are judged of by their handsome or awkward way of expressing themselves in it. John Locke.
An awkward shame, or fear of ill usage, has a share in this conduct. Jonathan Swift.
Slow to resolve, but in performance quick:
So true, that he was awkward at a trick. John Dryden, Hind and P.A kind and constant friend
To all that regularly offend;
But was implacable, and awkward,
To all that interlop’d and hawker’d. Hudibras.
Webster Dictionary
Awkwardadjective
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
Awkwardadjective
not easily managed or effected; embarrassing
Awkwardadjective
perverse; adverse; untoward
Freebase
Awkward
Awkward is an album by Ty. It was released in 2001 on Ninja Tune records.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Awkward
awk′ward, adj. clumsy: ungraceful: embarrassed: difficult to deal with: (Shak.) unfavourable: (obs.) froward.—adj. Awk′wardish.—adv. Awk′wardly, clumsily, embarrassingly, dangerously.—n. Awk′wardness. [Prob. Ice. afug, turned wrong way, and suff. -ward, expressing direction.]
British National Corpus
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'awkward' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2554
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'awkward' in Adjectives Frequency: #741
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of awkward in Chaldean Numerology is: 4
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of awkward in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9
Examples of awkward in a Sentence
I can take criticism. (Rubio) can as well, we're close friends and I admire him greatly. It's a little awkward, as I've always said, that he's running for the same spot I am, but he has every right to do it. ... Donald Trump has no knowledge about my relationship with Marco Rubio.
I think both Minister Boris Johnson and... Priti Patel and some other government MPs did misjudge the situation right from the start, but certainly, in as much as The Government's woken a few people up who perhaps didn't realize that Priti Patel has said this, that does make things a little bit more awkward for The Government than perhaps they were before.
We were under the very realistic possibility that once it comes out and goes back in, there’s a very good chance that could repeat and continue to happen, we certainly understand the risk and with the understanding that certainly with the slide yesterday, he just ended up in an awkward position like that, there was a chance of that possibly happening.
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.
Katie and I were a bit awkward and nervous at first, but once we got into it, it was fine — even if we had to do it about 30 times!
Popularity rank by frequency of use
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
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"awkward." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2022. Web. 16 Aug. 2022. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/awkward>.
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