Awkward Definition

ôkwərd
adjective
awkwarder, awkwardest
Not graceful; ungainly.
American Heritage
Not having grace or skill; clumsy, as in form or movement; bungling.
An awkward dancer, an awkward style.
Webster's New World
Not dexterous; clumsy.
American Heritage
Inconvenient to use; hard to handle; unwieldy.
An awkward tool.
Webster's New World
Clumsily or unskillfully performed.
The opera was marred by an awkward aria.
American Heritage
adverb

(obsolete) In a backwards direction.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Awkward

Adjective

Base Form:
awkward
Comparative:
awkwarder
Superlative:
awkwardest

Origin of Awkward

  • Middle English awkeward in the wrong way awke wrong (from Old Norse öfugr backward apo- in Indo-European roots) -ward -ward

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From awk (“odd, clumsy”) +‎ -ward.

    From Wiktionary

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