ungainly

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“
That we, of to-day, in gross contrast to this Arcadian purity, call for the ungainly, and obtain the ugly.

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Definitions (10)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. adjective Lacking grace or ease of movement or form; clumsy.
  2. adjective Difficult to move or use; unwieldy.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (4)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (2)

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Examples (50)

  • But it was an ungainly, awkward craft, and I didn't feel comfortable maneuvering about these islands and narrow waters. —  AHMM,July-August2006
  • Unlike the ungainly, full-size Arf-Hdm2 complex, the smaller combination was soluble enough to study using NMR.
  • It was too heavy and ungainly, and the 20mm "smart shell" it fired did not appear capable of effectively putting enemy troops out of action. —  StrategyPage.com
  • Warhol's quest for the ungainly, even the freakish, reaches its fascinating climax in these Polaroids. —  Culture | guardian.co.uk
  • The proportions are never quite right; they seem ungainly, the wearers seem like they desperately want to get into Studio 54 but are being left in the cold. —  Jezebel
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Related

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

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

clumsy ·  unwieldy ·  uncouth ·  bony ·  bulky ·  hairy ·  misshapen ·  lanky ·  ponderous ·  angular ·  gawky ·  shapeless
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. un-1 + obsolete gainly, proper (from Middle English gainli, from gain, from Old Norse gegn, direct).

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English *ungaynly (cf. ungainly, adv.); from un- + gainly, a.
  2. from Middle English *ungaynly, ungeinlīche; from un- + gainly, adv.
 

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/ənˈgeɪnli/
by American Heritage

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