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[ UK /ˈɔːkwəd/ ]
[ US /ˈɑkwɝd, ˈɔkwɝd/ ]
ADJECTIVE
  1. hard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment
    a sticky question
    awkward (or embarrassing or difficult) moments in the discussion
    in the unenviable position of resorting to an act he had planned to save for the climax of the campaign
    an awkward pause followed his remark
  2. socially uncomfortable; unsure and constrained in manner
    awkward and reserved at parties
    was always uneasy with strangers
    ill at ease among eddies of people he didn't know
  3. causing inconvenience
    they arrived at an awkward time
  4. lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance
    his clumsy fingers produced an awkward knot
    too awkward with a needle to make her own clothes
    an awkward dancer
    an awkward gesture
  5. not elegant or graceful in expression
    a clumsy apology
    his cumbersome writing style
    if the rumor is true, can anything be more inept than to repeat it now?
    an awkward prose style
  6. difficult to handle or manage especially because of shape
    an awkward bundle to carry
    clumsy wooden shoes
    the cello, a rather ungainly instrument for a girl
    a load of bunglesome paraphernalia

How To Use awkward In A Sentence

  • There were a few awkward social situations. Times, Sunday Times
  • There were a few awkward social situations. Times, Sunday Times
  • At the end of the day, Madison wrote Washington that Henry and Mason “appeared to take different & awkward ground,” and “the federalists are a good deal elated by the existing prospect.” Ratification
  • The unposed, rather awkward-looking, front-on shots remind us that fashion is not all about celebrity and stylists.
  • The contrail went straight up, bisecting the Sun, forcing the crowd to squint and awkwardly block the Sun to see the contrail.
  • Here and there a mother turned her head to call back anxiously for the bleating lambkin lost behind the white curtain; and, dim and grotesque, the awkward strayling would come gamboling into sight. Virginia: the Old Dominion
  • That most people walk in an ungraceful, ungainly and awkward manner with a forward inclination of the body does not mean that it is the normal way of walking.
  • For all its heart-thumping glory, it can also come with a heavy-duty helping of awkwardness and anxiety.
  • The awkwardness between them soon vanished when they began laughing and mocking the poorly produced film.
  • The atmosphere grew tenser and an awkward pause ensued.
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