Synonyms for ungainly
ʌnˈgeɪn liun·gain·ly

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ungainly

   Awkward, from awk (kindred with off, from the Norwegian), is off-ward, turned the wrong way; it was anciently used of a back-handed or left-handed blow in battle, of squinting eyes, etc. Clumsy, on the other hand (from clumse, also through the Norwegian), signifies benumbed, stiffened with cold; this is the original meaning of clumsy fingers, clumsy limbs. Thus, awkward primarily refers to action, clumsy to condition. A tool, a vehicle, or the human frame may be clumsy in shape or build, awkward in motion. The clumsy man is almost of necessity awkward, but the awkward man may not be naturally clumsy. The finest untrained colt is awkward in harness; a horse that is clumsy in build can never be trained out of awkwardness. An awkward statement has an uncomfortable, and perhaps recoiling force; a statement that contains ill-assorted and incongruous material in ill-chosen language is clumsy. We speak of an awkward predicament, an awkward scrape. An awkward excuse commonly reflects on the one who offers it. We say the admitted facts have an awkward appearance. In none of these cases could clumsy be used. Clumsy is, however, applied to movements that seem as unsuitable as those of benumbed and stiffened limbs. A dancing bear is both clumsy and awkward.

   Synonyms:
   awkward, boorish, bungling, clownish, clumsy, gawky, maladroit, rough, uncouth, unhandy, unskilful

   Antonyms:
   adroit, clever, dexterous, handy, skilful

   Preposition:
   The raw recruit is awkward in action; at the business.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ungainly

   Synonyms:
   clumsy, awkward, lumbering, uncouth

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. gawky, clumsy, clunky, ungainly, unwieldyadjective

   lacking grace in movement or posture

   "a gawky lad with long ungainly legs"; "clumsy fingers"; "what an ungainly creature a giraffe is"; "heaved his unwieldy figure out of his chair"

   Synonyms:
   incompetent, fumbling, inept, unmanageable, gawky, ill-chosen, bungling, inapt, cumbersome, awkward, clunky, unwieldy, clumsy, bunglesome

   Antonyms:
   wieldy, graceful

2. awkward, bunglesome, clumsy, ungainlyadjective

   difficult to handle or manage especially because of shape

   "an awkward bundle to carry"; "a load of bunglesome paraphernalia"; "clumsy wooden shoes"; "the cello, a rather ungainly instrument for a girl"

   Synonyms:
   unenviable, ill-chosen, fumbling, clumsy, inapt, gawky, awkward, bunglesome, cumbersome, bungling, inept, incompetent, unwieldy, embarrassing, clunky, ill at ease(p), uneasy, sticky

   Antonyms:
   wieldy, graceful

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ungainlyadjective

   Synonyms:
   clumsy, awkward, uncouth, uncourtly, inelegant, clownish, boorish, gawky, loutish, lubberly, lumbering, slouching, ungraceful, stiff, constrained

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ungainlyadjective

   Synonyms:
   awkward, gawky, ungraceful, lumbering, loutish, wooden, uncouth

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How to use ungainly in a sentence?

1. Ross MacPhee:

   Despite their ungainly appearance, different species of glyptodonts occupied habitats as distinct as open grassland and dense woodland, all the way from Patagonia to the southern parts of the continental United States, although their disappearance has been blamed on human depredation as well as climate change, some species persisted into the early part of the modern or Holocene epoch, long after the disappearance of mammoths and saber-toothed cats. Like the loss of giant ground sloths, mastodons, and dozens of other remarkable mammalian species, the precise cause of the New World megafaunal extinctions remains uncertain.

2. Jens Falkenberg:

   I can’t imagine Peter having killed her intentionally, but I can imagine an accident happening, the submarine is an ungainly place and you move around awkwardly. Perhaps she fell and broke her neck.