Awkward Meaning
/ˈɔːk.wəd/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjLacking dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments.
adjNot easily managed or effected; embarrassing.
Sentence Examples
After an awkward pause, Bill took her by the hand and dragged her upstairs.
I felt very awkward.
At first the trainees were awkward in his company.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
He felt ____ when he accidentally called his boss mom.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He felt very ____ when he realized he was wearing two different shoes.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- Proto-Indo-European *h₂époh₃kʷos Proto-Germanic *abuhaz Old Norse ǫfugrder. Middle English awke English awk Proto-Indo-European *wert-der. Proto-Germanic *wardaz Old English -weard English -ward English awkward From awk (“odd, clumsy”) + -ward. Compare Middle English aukeward (“in the wrong direction”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Clearing up rock and fallen vegetation at such an awkward site required a team of specialist geoengineers."
— 2020 August 26, Andrew Mourant, “Reinforced against future flooding”, in Rail, page 61:
"Another important branch of deportment was to seat the awkwards stiffly on the extreme edge of a chair, fold the hands on the very precarious lap, droop the eyes in a pensive way."
— 1912, Eliza Ripley, Social Life in Old New Orleans, Being Recollections of My Girlhood, New York, N.Y.; London: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
"'What periods are you talking about?' / 'The monthly awkwards. Didn't the girls at Molyneux have them when you were managing director?' / The Rabbit leaned forward, sniffing the air in the immediate vicinity. 'Either you've been drinking or you've got some girl into trouble. Or am I being unfair to you and it's both?'"
— 1998, Leo Marks, Between Silk and Cyanide: The Story of SOE's Code War, London: HarperCollins, →ISBN:
"That is a way to make awkwards. And it's not fun to hang out with awkwards more than once."
— 2014, Grace Helbig, Grace's Guide: The Art of Pretending to Be a Grown-up, New York, N.Y.: Touchstone Books, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 76:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He felt ____ when he accidentally called his boss mom.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He felt very ____ when he realized he was wearing two different shoes.