- lacking dexterity, proficiency, or skill; clumsy; inept
- ungainly or inelegant in movements or posture
- unwieldy; difficult to use
- embarrassing: an awkward moment
- embarrassed: he felt awkward about leaving
- difficult to deal with; requiring tact: an awkward situation, an awkward customer
- deliberately uncooperative or unhelpful
- dangerous or difficult
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
awk•ward /ˈɔkwɚd/USA pronunciation
adj.
awk•ward•ness, n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- clumsy;
not having much skill:an awkward dancer. - lacking grace or ease, as in movement or posture:took an awkward swing at the ball.
- lacking social graces or manners:always feels awkward at office parties.
- difficult to use or handle:an awkward tool.
- requiring skill or tact;
difficult:an awkward situation.
awk•ward•ness, n. [uncountable]
awk•ward
(ôk′wərd),USA pronunciation adj.
awk′ward•ly, adv.
awk′ward•ness, n.
- lacking skill or dexterity;
clumsy. - lacking grace or ease in movement:an awkward gesture; an awkward dancer.
- lacking social graces or manners:a simple, awkward frontiersman.
- not well planned or designed for easy or effective use:an awkward instrument; an awkward method.
- requiring caution;
somewhat hazardous;
dangerous:an awkward turn in the road. - hard to deal with;
difficult;
requiring skill, tact, or the like:an awkward situation; an awkward customer. - embarrassing or inconvenient;
caused by lack of social grace:an awkward moment - [Obs.]untoward;
perverse.
- Old Norse ǫfugr turned the wrong way; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German abuh, Old English afu(h)lic wrong, off) + -ward -ward
- Middle English, equivalent. to awk(e), auk(e) backhanded, Old English *afoc (1300–50
awk′ward•ness, n.
- 1. unskillful, unhandy, inexpert.
- 1. deft, adroit. 2. graceful.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
awkward /ˈɔːkwəd/ adj
'awkward' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
angular
- bumpkin
- chancery
- clumsy
- clunky
- contretemps
- corner
- cumbersome
- dilemma
- faff
- fiddly
- fish
- flat-footed
- gangling
- gauche
- gawky
- gumtree
- hobble
- hot potato
- if
- inconvenient
- inept
- left-handed
- lubber
- lug
- lumbering
- lump
- pickle
- ponderous
- put
- quagmire
- repetitive strain injury
- rustic
- scrape
- shamble
- shuffle
- slouch
- splay
- split infinitive
- spot
- sticky
- sticky wicket
- stiff
- stroppy
- stumble
- untoward
- wall
- wooden
- agile
- agrestic