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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary awk·ward ETYMOLOGY Middle English awkeward in the wrong direction, from awke turned the wrong way, from Old Norse ǫfugr; akin to Old High German abuh turned the wrong way DATE 1530 1. obsolete : perverse 2. archaic : unfavorable , adverse 3. a. lacking dexterity or skill (as in the use of hands) awkward with a needle and thread b. showing the result of a lack of expertness awkward pictures 4. a. lacking ease or grace (as of movement or expression) awkward writing b. lacking the right proportions, size, or harmony of parts : ungainly an awkward design 5. a. lacking social grace and assurance an awkward newcomer b. causing embarrassment an awkward moment 6. not easy to handle or deal with : requiring great skill, ingenuity, or care an awkward load an awkward diplomatic situation • awk·ward·ly adverb • awk·ward·ness noun Synonyms. awkward , clumsy , maladroit , inept , gauche mean not marked by ease (as of performance, movement, or social conduct). awkward is widely applicable and may suggest unhandiness, inconvenience, lack of muscular control, embarrassment, or lack of tact periods of awkward silence clumsy implies stiffness and heaviness and so may connote inflexibility, unwieldiness, or lack of ordinary skill a clumsy mechanic maladroit suggests a tendency to create awkward situations a maladroit politician inept often implies complete failure or inadequacy a hopelessly inept defense attorney gauche implies the effects of shyness, inexperience, or ill breeding felt gauche and unsophisticated at formal parties English Etymology awkward mid-14c., "in the wrong direction," from awk "back-handed" + adverbial suffix -weard (see -ward). Meaning "clumsy" first recorded 1520s. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 ☞ awkward awk·ward / 5C:kwEd; NAmE -wErd / adjective1. making you feel embarrassed 令人尴尬的；使人难堪的: There was an awkward silence. 一阵令人尴尬的沉默。 2. difficult to deal with 难对付的；难处理的 SYN difficult :
Don't ask awkward questions. 不要问棘手的问题。 You've put me in an awkward position. 你使得我狼狈不堪。 an awkward customer (= a person who is difficult to deal with) 难对付的家伙 Please don't be awkward about letting him come. 关于让他来这事请你不要作梗。 3. not convenient 不方便的 SYN inconvenient :
Have I come at an awkward time? 我来得不是时候吧？ 4. difficult or dangerous because of its shape or design (因形状、设计而)产生困难的,危险的: This box is very awkward for six person to carry. 这只箱子一个人很不好搬。 5. not moving in an easy way; not comfortable (动作)笨拙的；不舒适的: He tried to dance, but he was too clumsy and awkward. 他试着跳舞,但是太笨拙,太别扭。 I must have slept in an awkward position—I'm aching all over. 我肯定睡的姿势不舒适——我全身疼痛。 • awk·ward·ly adv.: 'I'm sorry,' he said awkwardly. "对不起。"他局促不安地说。 She fell awkwardly and broke her ankle. 她笨重地摔了一跤,摔断了踝关节。 an awkwardly shaped room 形状别扭的房间 • awk·ward·ness noun [U] : She laughed to cover up her feeling of awkwardness. 她用笑声掩饰她的难堪。 Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English awkward adj. 1 difficult VERBS be, look, seem | make sth ADV. extremely, very | a bit, rather, slightly, somewhat She asked some rather awkward questions. PHRASES make things awkward He could make things very awkward for me if he wanted to. 2 not relaxed VERBS be, feel, look | become | make sb He was embarrassed, which made him awkward. ADV. extremely, very | a bit, rather | painfully As a teenager he was painfully awkward in company. PREP. about They felt awkward about having to leave so soon. | with She is awkward with people she doesn't know. OLT awkward adj. ⇨ embarrassed (She is awkward with people she doesn't know.)⇨ perverse (Please don't be awkward.)⇨ sensitive 2 (put sb in an awkward position)⇨ wrong 3 (an awkward time) Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged awk·ward \ˈȯwə(r)d\ adjective (-er/-est) Etymology: Middle English awkeward in the wrong direction, upside down, from awke turned the wrong way, left-handed (from Old Norse öfugr turned the wrong way) + -ward; akin to Old High German abuh turned the wrong way, bad, evil, Old Saxon aƀuh, Latin opacus shady, obscure, Old Slavic opaky turned backward, Armenian haka- toward 1. obsolete a. : perverse , froward < an awkward pride in my nature — Henry Fielding > b. : adverse , unfavorable < with awkward winds and with sore tempests driven — Christopher Marlowe > 2. a. : lacking dexterity or skill especially in the use of the hands or of instruments : clumsy < she was too awkward with a needle to make her own clothes > b. : showing the result of inexpert handling or faulty craftsmanship : ill-made < the form of writing used … was extremely crude and was confined chiefly to expressing thoughts by means of awkwardpictures — R.W.Murray > 3. a. : lacking ease, grace, or deftness of movement : not graceful < she had large feet and her walk was awkward and ungainly > b. : appearing ill-proportioned, outsize, or poorly fitted together : ungainly < how long, tall, quick, strong, or awkward in looks he was — Carl Sandburg > 4. : lacking ease, grace, or effectiveness of expression : cumbersome < an awkward piece of writing > < a title which is extremely awkward in English — R.A.Hall b.1911 > 5. a. : lacking social grace and assurance : feeling or showing embarrassment : ill at ease < he hesitated, awkward and bashful, shifted his weight from one leg to the other — Jack London > b. : causing embarrassment : inconvenient , difficult < sometimes his quick brain runs him into awkward situations — John Ennis > < spared her from explanations and professions which it was exceedingly awkward to give — Jane Austen > 6. : inexpertly designed, placed, or organized : poorly adapted for use or handling < attempts to combine … a single picture out of these awkwardand contradictory tests — Havelock Ellis > < the dykes and drains make these roads so very awkward — Dorothy Sayers > 7. : requiring caution : somewhat dangerous < the guide let himself down an awkward cliff > Synonyms: clumsy , inept , maladroit , gauche , ungainly , lumbering , gawky : awkward , clumsy , inept , maladroit , and gauche denote lack of grace, ease, skill, or fitness in appearance or movement, action or speech, use or function; ungainly , lumbering , and gawky denote a similar lack, usually due to cumbersome build or ill-proportioned structure. awkward may apply to a person who is lacking in muscular coordination or is deficient in poise < you're as awkward, McGovery, as a bull calf — Anthony Trollope > It often implies shyness and self-consciousness < I, sitting in silence, felt awkward; but I was too shy to break into any of the groups that seemed absorbed in their own affairs — W.S.Maugham > It may apply to an object that is not easily handled or dexterously managed < awkward round boats > to a situation or action likely to cause embarrassment or discomfiture < an easy and welcome solution to an otherwise awkward problem — W.L.Sperry > or to modes of expression that are cumbersome or confused < an awkward sentence > clumsy may denote a person or an animal that is blundering or lacking in skill or grace and often describes one who is grotesque and clattering from awkwardness, especially as an inherent tendency < a clumsy bear > < a clumsy and timid horseman — W.M.Thackeray > It may also denote a person or object that is heavy or unwieldy < the clumsy machinery of the plot — T.S.Eliot > < a clumsy horse > inept , which applies to both persons and their actions or products, is the strongest word of those here compared, for it suggests total failure < an inept mechanic > < an inept administrator > < an inept translation > and carries a suggestion of futility or absurdity < by what inept logic must we bow to our creation if it be a machine and spurn it as “unreal” if it happens to be a painting or a poem? — Lewis Mumford > maladroit may describe remarks or actions that are out of place, ill-timed, or tasteless and that cause embarrassment or resentment, or persons responsible for them < Lloyd George, though a brilliant statesman, was often a maladroit polictician — Malcolm Thomson > gauche also describes a person or something he says or does and often refers to a general tendency to be ill at ease from shyness, inexperience, or lack of breeding, and to increase one's discomfiture by inappropriate acts or remarks < these gauche characters just don't know the rules of the game — John Farrelly > < that shy, rather gauche fellow, slinking nervously about the corridors — H.J.Laski > ungainly indicates marked physical gracelessness often due to excessive size < she had long ungainly limbs and was very awkward in the use of them — Anthony Trollope > lumbering describes one that is large and ponderous, formidable when at rest and moving, if at all, with real or apparent difficulty < so that his slow lumbering plane would not be left behind by the faster bombers — H.L.Merillat > gawky suggests graceless proportions and the self-consciousness often attendant on such an appearance < one of these abrupt, rather gawky women, all hands and feet — Valentine Williams > |
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