Meaning & Definition of Awkward in English

1. Causing inconvenience

• "They arrived at an awkward time"

2. 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"

3. 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"

4. 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?"

5. 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"

6. 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"