Ungainly Definition

ŭn-gānlē
ungainliest, ungainlier
adjective
ungainlier, ungainliest
Awkward; clumsy.
Webster's New World
Lacking grace or ease of movement or form; clumsy.
American Heritage
Coarse and unattractive.
Webster's New World
Difficult to move or use; unwieldy.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
adverb
In an ungainly manner.
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Ungainly

Adjective

Base Form:
ungainly
Comparative:
ungainlier
Superlative:
ungainliest

Origin of Ungainly

  • un– obsolete gainly proper (from Middle English gainli) (from gain) (from Old Norse gegn direct)

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

  • From un- + Old Norse gegn (“fit, honest") + -ly.

    From Wiktionary

Ungainly Sentence Examples

  • He was ungainly, with rickety legs.

  • The horses and cattle are of a degenerate type, small, ungainly and inured to neglect and hard usage.

  • The principal church, among many, is the cathedral of St Michael, a large, ungainly building of grey sandstone.

  • The general shape of the animal is ungainly, owing to a huge hump on the withers, at which point the height is about 3 ft.

  • The sides of the atrium are unfortunately occupied by plain ungainly buildings five storeys in height, awkwardly accommodating themselves to the upward slope of the ground.

More Sentences

Related Articles

Find Similar Words

Find similar words to ungainly using the buttons below.

Words Starting With

UUNUNG

Words Ending With

YLYNLY

Unscrambles

ungainly

Words Starting With U and Ending With Y

Starts With U & Ends With YStarts With UN & Ends With YStarts With U & Ends With LY

Word Length

8 Letter Words8 Letter Words Starting With U8 Letter Words Ending With Y