awkward

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments (7)  · 
But Speed was nervous and awkward -- so awkward, in fact, that the coach finally gave it up as a bad job, saying:

View all »
Definitions (27)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (7)

  1. adjective Not graceful; ungainly.
  2. adjective Not dexterous; clumsy.
  3. adjective Clumsily or unskillfully performed: The opera was marred by an awkward aria.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (13)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (6)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

 

Tags

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 359 times.

1 person has marked this word as a favorite.

On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

clumsy ·  uncomfortable ·  painful ·  stupid ·  difficult ·  nervous ·  weak
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English awkeward, in the wrong way : awke, wrong (from Old Norse öfugr, backward; see apo- in Indo-European roots) + -ward, -ward.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Early modern English or dial. also aukward, awkwart, awkard, awkerd, awkert, etc., Middle English awkwarde, aukward, etc., transversely, sidewise, perversely; from awk + -ward.
  2. Early modern English or dial. also aukward, awkwart, awkard, awkerd, etc.; from awkward, adv.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »

/ˈɔkwərd/
by American Heritage

Charts

frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about twice a week.

Recently looked up

dalliance · FAGE · placidly · gonzo · insisting

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

eu oi oìa u ou e u oìa · the octopi are dry · Kansas City · spell it rite · put it in your pocket