Synonyms
Examples of awkward in a Sentence
Jaron Lanier, Curious Minds, (2004) 2005
Greene must have known that such men would not spill the beans about his irregular life or ask awkward questions, though Burgess famously teased him for being … a poseur, and was banished.
—Paul Theroux, New York Times Book Review, 17 Oct. 2004
On the ground, vultures are hunched and awkward bundles of feathers, but in the air, where I watch them during much of the day, they are magnificent graceful soarers.
—Words From the Land, Stephen Trimble, editor, 1988
She is awkward at dancing.
He had large feet and his walk was awkward and ungainly.
The story contained some awkward writing.
She is an awkward writer.
The machine is very awkward to operate.
I often find myself in awkward situations.
He was put in the awkward position of having to write the memo.
There was an awkward pause in the conversation.
He feels awkward with strangers.
Dennis Harvey, Variety, 11 Apr. 2024
Gone is the awkward politeness of early-season forums where five or six of them amicably shared their platforms with little conflict and lots of crossover.
—The Indianapolis Star, 11 Apr. 2024
At a minimum, a veto would put House Democrats in an awkward situation, forcing them to weigh whether to reverse their previous support for the bill and side with Kelly.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
During the first part of his interview with Fallon, O'Brien reminisced about his brief time as the Tonight Show's host and joked about how his incredible height made for awkward moments with shorter guests.
—Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
That might make negotiations awkward for the union contract that Spirit will soon be negotiating with the Air Line Pilots Association.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024
Dakota Fanning, a fine actress in the right movie, was too awkward live (though her pre-recorded Please Don't Destroy video short was funny).
—Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 8 Apr. 2024
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'KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE' - 'American Idol' contestant and Luke Bryan have awkward tiff, mocks judge’s country twang.
—Fox News Staff, Fox News, 6 Apr. 2024
In the Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, Carmichael documents the uncomfortable, awkward, and intimate parts of his life such as admitting to his infidelity to his boyfriend and searching for acceptance from his Christian mother.
—Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'awkward.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
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
1530, in the meaning defined at sense 5
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Cite this Entry
“Awkward.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/awkward. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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More from Merriam-Webster on awkward
Nglish: Translation of awkward for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of awkward for Arabic Speakers
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