1
as in clumsy
difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design
getting the ungainly couch up the stairs was a real chore
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in awkward
having or showing an inability to move in a graceful manner
the tree cutter was crushing any unlucky petunias that lay in the path of his ungainly tread
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of ungainly
And yet, within quarter of a century, this ungainly apparatus had established itself as a vital pillar of global governance.
—
Time, 26 Feb. 2026
Melbourne, Australia — An ungainly barrel of a shark cruising languidly over a barren seabed far too deep for the sun's rays to illuminate was an unexpected sight.
—CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
The movie begins in 1989, when Martin was just out of her teens and fighting in Toughwoman contests, and spans 22 years, providing all sorts of opportunities for ungainly period hairstyles, from a ragged pageboy to a curly mullet to a frizzy shag.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2025
All loads easier than wrangling an ungainly bird half the table doesn’t really much care for anyway (what?
—Shilpa Uskokovic, Bon Appetit Magazine, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ungainly
Time, 26 Feb. 2026
Melbourne, Australia — An ungainly barrel of a shark cruising languidly over a barren seabed far too deep for the sun's rays to illuminate was an unexpected sight.
—CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
The movie begins in 1989, when Martin was just out of her teens and fighting in Toughwoman contests, and spans 22 years, providing all sorts of opportunities for ungainly period hairstyles, from a ragged pageboy to a curly mullet to a frizzy shag.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2025
All loads easier than wrangling an ungainly bird half the table doesn’t really much care for anyway (what?
—Shilpa Uskokovic, Bon Appetit Magazine, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ungainly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ungainly
Adjective
-
Even young Oklahoma City required a clumsy postseason audition.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The driver and his accomplice then mounted a clumsy getaway that resulted in their scooter crashing about three blocks from the scene, cops said.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
So Pakistan is already in an awkward position because the Saudis are being attacked.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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Lock down the logistics first The fastest way to kill trip momentum is skipping the awkward conversations.—
Lauren Schuster,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
For the present, we’re saddled with the unwieldy dilemma of there being eight major Democratic candidates and just two Republicans.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Rising debt levels are increasingly becoming unwieldy, particularly for lower-incomes Americans.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Played in full, Silent Way induces a pervasive nausea, reveling in gawky soundscapes that seem barely able to contain their outsized, clashing ideas.—
Maxie Younger,
Pitchfork,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Homeroom placement was designated by test scores, and Smith rightly recalled that her homeroom class with Tupac was filled by twenty-eight Black students — and a gawky white kid named William Yates.—
Jeff Pearlman,
Rolling Stone,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The compact electromagnetic launcher features a 12-inch barrel and is light enough to be comfortably held and operated with one hand, allowing for greater mobility and ease of use in tight or urban environments where traditional firearms or larger coil guns would be cumbersome.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Apr. 2026
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The researchers received the feedback in a meeting with FDA reviewers to discuss a potential study of custom treatments using prime editors, a more complex and cumbersome gene editing technology that can treat a much wider range of genetic misspellings.—
Ed Silverman,
STAT,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Indoor environments also reduce the risk of falls or injuries, giving these unsteady felines the chance to adapt and live long, happy lives with a little extra patience and care.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
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As professionals try to navigate the unsteady road, the know-how and expertise of film commissions will become even more valuable.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The country had lost a generation of promising students and researchers during World War I; its universities were teaching math in uncoordinated, fragmented ways, using materials that were woefully out of date.—
Leila Sloman,
Quanta Magazine,
25 Mar. 2026
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For a quiet, uncoordinated kid, there was nothing cooler than a hero whose superpower was his imagination.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ungainly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ungainly. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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