EN

Synonyms for ungainly

  • adjective

Most common

gawky clumsy awkward inelegant

All synonyms

Adjective

1. Gawky — clumsy; lacking grace

gawky, clumsy, awkward, inelegant, unwieldy, clunky informal, uncouth, lumbering, stiff, clownish, boorish, loutish, ungraceful informal, lubberly, lummoxy, bunglesome, shambly, graceless

Other

weedy

Antonyms

graceful, elegant, gainly

All antonyms of ungainly →

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    Clumsy; lacking grace.

Related words

Word family
ungainliness

Example sentences

  • awkward At first the trainees were awkward in his company.
  • clumsy Her movements were awkward and her gesture clumsy.
  • inelegant The slang is a metonymic but inelegant phrase.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
ungainlyrising
awkwardrising
clumsyrising
inelegantrising
gawkyrising
weedyrising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

5 letters
stiff1, weedy2, gawky2
6 letters
clumsy2, clunky2
7 letters
awkward2, uncouth2, boorish2, loutish, lummoxy, shambly
8 letters
unwieldy3, clownish, lubberly
9 letters
lumbering3, inelegant, graceless2
10 letters
ungraceful, bunglesome

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (weedy2 = 2 syllables).