as in clumsy
having or showing an inability to move in a graceful manner
the stiff, gawky gait of a newborn colt
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Recent Examples of gawky
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2025
As Andy Kaufman, Nicholas Braun has just the right gawky awkwardness, and his brief, odd, mostly silent appearances in the first half of the film delightfully pay off near the climax.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
All the money her father had left them was put toward his daughters’ private education, but she was ostracized by wealthy classmates who bullied her for being too poor, too gawky and too dark-skinned.
—Kyle Buchanan, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2025
Carmello, a three-time Tony nominee, delivers an exquisite performance, equal parts gawky and wise, a tender-hearted girl feeling every slight but also always slightly above the fray.
—Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for gawky
Adjective
A far cry from the gawky and boyish Norman Bates, B.Z. is a floppy-haired, closeted Hollywood player slowly dissolving in his own nihilism.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2025
As Andy Kaufman, Nicholas Braun has just the right gawky awkwardness, and his brief, odd, mostly silent appearances in the first half of the film delightfully pay off near the climax.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
All the money her father had left them was put toward his daughters’ private education, but she was ostracized by wealthy classmates who bullied her for being too poor, too gawky and too dark-skinned.
—Kyle Buchanan, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2025
Carmello, a three-time Tony nominee, delivers an exquisite performance, equal parts gawky and wise, a tender-hearted girl feeling every slight but also always slightly above the fray.
—Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for gawky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gawky
Adjective
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These transitions, between past and present, are sometimes clumsy but sometimes genuinely sweet, as with an old letter that near-simultaneously is dictated and written, received and read, and finally rediscovered (and only partially understood) in the 21st century.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
27 May 2025
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Wildlife officials helped remove a black bear found hanging out in the kitchen of a Kentucky home after an impressive, yet clumsy break-in, photos show.—
Mitchell Willetts,
Kansas City Star,
25 May 2025
Noun
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There’s at least one major shoe that could drop — why devote an entire episode to the Gemstone origin story if that gold Bible isn’t going to pay off somehow? — but The Righteous Gemstones loves these grotesque, dysfunctional louts.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
28 Apr. 2025
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And when someone does cross the line, like the louts who doused cops in Harlem and Brownsville with water in 2019, most officers have shown remarkable restraint.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2024
Adjective
-
Eddie's real parentage is revealed, Maeve is outed, Kevin catches up with Rusby, Bella brokers her deal, and Alice attends an awkward Harrigan dinner.—
Matt Cabral,
EW.com,
26 May 2025
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There is also an awkward disconnect: Gmail’s recent encryption upgrade clashes with its AI upgrades.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
Noun
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Buck is a loquacious, glad-handing oaf who has a boring way with a witty story, and is marked for death.—
Fred Schruers,
IndieWire,
27 Feb. 2025
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Hackman’s aggravation early on that directors didn’t seek out and exploit his comic and even improv talents was handled unforgettably in his portrayal of Superman villain Lex Luthor, a flamboyant oaf of Trumpian proportions.—
Fred Schruers,
IndieWire,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The resulting Cheetah was, frankly, an ungainly machine, more like an oversized four-wheel ATV than a Ford Bronco or Mercedes G-Wagen.—
Will Sabel Courtney,
Robb Report,
22 May 2025
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That dispute was patched over by an ungainly agreement, negotiated between the European Commission and the U.S. government.—
Henry Farrell,
Foreign Affairs,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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This is because the implementation of these measures is insufficient and uncoordinated and because there are not nearly enough concrete consequences—including sanctions or prosecutions—for illicit-gold traffickers and the refiners that purchase from them.—
SASHA LEZHNEV,
Foreign Affairs,
19 May 2025
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Only 18 months after the collision, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which makes his left side uncoordinated and gnaws away at his memory.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
8 May 2025
Noun
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Police believe the architecture-loving tyke managed to take a train to Manhattan, Akond said.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2025
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In 1993 the company scooped up Fisher-Price and toys and games for infants and young tykes.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
6 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Here, the blurring is visual: Sometimes Leonard floats into the past looking like Gere, who wears the character without a shred of self-protection as the lens gawks at his raw skin.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Dec. 2024
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The Esprit's shape, arguably more avant-garde despite its age, consistently pegs the gawk meter.—
John Phillips,
Car and Driver,
18 June 2020
Cite this Entry
“Gawky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gawky. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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