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awkwardness

   Also found in: Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
awk·ward  (ôkwrd)
adj.
1. Not graceful; ungainly.
2.
a. Not dexterous; clumsy.
b. Clumsily or unskillfully performed: The opera was marred by an awkward aria.
3.
a. Difficult to handle or manage: an awkward bundle to carry.
b. Difficult to effect; uncomfortable: an awkward pose.
4.
a. Marked by or causing embarrassment or discomfort: an awkward remark; an awkward silence.
b. Requiring great tact, ingenuity, skill, and discretion: An awkward situation arose during the peace talks.

[Middle English awkeward, in the wrong way : awke, wrong (from Old Norse öfugr, backward; see apo- in Indo-European roots) + -ward, -ward.]

awkward·ly adv.
awkward·ness n.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.awkwardness - unskillfulness resulting from a lack of training
unskillfulness - a lack of cognitive skill
rustiness - ineptitude or awkwardness as a consequence of age or lack of practice; "his rustiness showed when he was asked to speed up"
2.awkwardness - the quality of an embarrassing situation; "he sensed the awkwardness of his proposal"
disadvantage - the quality of having an inferior or less favorable position
3.awkwardness - the carriage of someone whose movements and posture are ungainly or inelegant
posture, carriage, bearing - characteristic way of bearing one's body; "stood with good posture"
gracelessness, ungracefulness - an unpleasant lack of grace in carriage or form or movement or expression
gawkiness, ungainliness - the carriage of someone whose movements and posture are extremely ungainly and inelegant
stiffness - the property of moving with pain or difficulty; "he awoke with a painful stiffness in his neck"
gracefulness - beautiful carriage
4.awkwardness - the inelegance of someone stiff and unrelaxed (as by embarrassment)
inelegance - the quality of lacking refinement and good taste
woodenness - the quality of being wooden and awkward; "he criticized the woodenness of the acting"; "there was a certain woodenness in his replies"
gaucherie, rusticity - the quality of being rustic or gauche
5.awkwardnessawkwardness - trouble in carrying or managing caused by bulk or shape; "the movers cursed the unwieldiness of the big piano"
troublesomeness, worriment, inconvenience - a difficulty that causes anxiety

awkwardness
noun
1. clumsiness, stiffness, rudeness, coarseness, ineptness, ill-breeding, artlessness, gaucheness, inelegance, gaucherie, gracelessness, oafishness, gawkiness, uncouthness, maladroitness, ungainliness, clownishness, inexpertness, uncoordination, unskilfulness, unskilledness He displayed all the awkwardness of adolescence.
2. embarrassment, difficulty, discomfort, delicacy, unpleasantness, inconvenience, stickiness (informal), painfulness, ticklishness, uphill (S. African), thorniness, inopportuneness, perplexingness, untimeliness It was a moment of some awkwardness in our relationship.
Translations
awkwardness [ˈɔːkwədnɪs] N
1. (= difficult nature) [of problem] → lo delicado; [of situation] → lo delicado, lo violento; [of person] → falta f de colaboración; [of shape, design] → lo incómodo, lo poco práctico
2. (= embarrassment, discomfort) → embarazo m
3. (= clumsiness) → torpeza f
awkwardness [ˈɔːkwərdnɪs] n (= embarrassment) → gêne f
awkwardness
n
(= difficulty)Schwierigkeit f; (of time, angle, shape)Ungünstigkeit f
(= discomfort)Peinlichkeit f
(= embarrassment)Verlegenheit f; (= shamefacedness)Betretenheit f
(= clumsiness)Unbeholfenheit f
awkwardness [ˈɔːkwədnɪs] n (of situation, problem) → difficoltà, delicatezza; (of arrangement) → scomodità; (of silence) → imbarazzo; (of movement, behaviour) → goffaggine f
the awkwardness of his prose style → lo stile contorto della sua prosa
awkwardness [ˈɔːkwədnɪs] n (of situation, problem) → difficoltà, delicatezza; (of arrangement) → scomodità; (of silence) → imbarazzo; (of movement, behaviour) → goffaggine f
the awkwardness of his prose style → lo stile contorto della sua prosa


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
But this awkwardness only lasted a minute, because the strange captain, observing at a glance how affairs stood, cried out, I see, I see
In her memories of Vronsky there always entered a certain element of awkwardness, though he was in the highest degree well-bred and at ease, as though there were some false note--not in Vronsky, he was very simple and nice, but in herself, while with Levin she felt perfectly simple and clear.
Anyway, one can observe a certain awkwardness about him when he has attained such objects.
 
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