1
as in uncomfortable
lacking social grace and assurance
inelegant teens still learning how to act at formal events
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inappropriate
marked by an obvious lack of style or good taste
inelegant furniture that looked like it belonged in a budget motel
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inelegant
The obvious fix is a little bit of duct tape, an inelegant but quick repair with a resource that most households already have on hand.
—
PC Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
For such an inelegant behavior to be in chatbots as widespread and popular as GPT is a blunt reminder of two larger, seemingly contrary phenomena.
—Jonathan L. Zittrain, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2024
The result has been a competition that has felt, at times, unwieldy and inelegant and exhausting.
—Sam Lee, The Athletic, 12 Dec. 2024
That process is genial and inelegant in equal measure.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 17 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inelegant
PC Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
For such an inelegant behavior to be in chatbots as widespread and popular as GPT is a blunt reminder of two larger, seemingly contrary phenomena.
—Jonathan L. Zittrain, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2024
The result has been a competition that has felt, at times, unwieldy and inelegant and exhausting.
—Sam Lee, The Athletic, 12 Dec. 2024
That process is genial and inelegant in equal measure.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 17 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inelegant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inelegant
Adjective
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But after a smattering of deeply uncomfortable and boundary-crossing hangs, Austin decides to sever ties with Craig, who slowly loses his mind trying to win back his erstwhile buddy.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
24 May 2025
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The film is also an introspective interrogation of Cruise's stardom, confronting its main character with uncomfortable realities: his world is artificial, insulated, and fleeting, and his multimillion-dollar good looks could disappear in an instant.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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There can be a change to the list if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on another would be inappropriate.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 June 2025
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Both the city’s account and Mayor Quinton Lucas issued online apologies that night, agreeing that the post was inappropriate.—
Mike Hendricks,
Kansas City Star,
3 June 2025
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
Adjective
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The senators are incorrect three times, and surely more.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
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But here’s the twist: both might technically be incorrect.—
Simon Perry,
People.com,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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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
Adjective
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Any useless, toxic or otherwise unsuitable man can become a child’s legal father, without being subject to the thorough checks that these women must face.—
Catherine Bray,
Variety,
23 May 2025
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Advertisement Advertisement Some insects are adapting to changing climates by moving to regions that might have previously been unsuitable.—
Simmone Shah,
Time,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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In the wake of multiple plane crashes, and amid erratic federal policies and denials and detentions at border crossings, summer travel in the U.S. is in an uneasy state.—
Kevinisha Walker,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2025
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The opening moments cement its tonal dissonance as, with a twang of Daniel Kowalski’s spare, uneasy score, a brief prologue with fire, a flailing figure and mutterings about Satan snaps to a far more banal view of an empty street lined with dim, shuttered houses under a low, gray sky.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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The movie takes its title for the unfashionable floater of a nearly unhittable pitch, long, high and vexing.—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Mar. 2025
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King-Hammond suggested yet another factor: his focus on people, and not formalist ideas, was unfashionable in the eyes of art history’s shapers.—
Alex Greenberger,
ARTnews.com,
25 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inelegant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inelegant. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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