awkward meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

awkward

adj

UK /ˈɔːk.wəd/ · US /ˈɔk.wɚd/

Etymology From awk (“odd, clumsy”) + -ward. Compare Middle English aukeward (“in the wrong direction”).

Lacking dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments.

Not easily managed or effected; embarrassing.

Lacking social skills, or uncomfortable with social interaction.

Perverse; adverse; difficult to handle.

1 more example

Clearing up rock and fallen vegetation at such an awkward site required a team of specialist geoengineers.2020 August 26, Andrew Mourant, “Reinforced against future flooding”, in Rail, page 61:

Derived terms: awkward age, awkwardish, awkwardly, awkwardness, awkward squad, awkward turtle, awkweird, awky, unawkward

noun

Etymology From awk (“odd, clumsy”) + -ward. Compare Middle English aukeward (“in the wrong direction”).

Someone or something that is awkward.

Another important branch of deportment was to seat the awkwards stiffly on the extreme edge of a chair, fold the hands on the very precarious lap, droop the eyes in a pensive way.1912, Eliza Ripley, Social Life in Old New Orleans, Being Recollections of My Girlhood, New York, N.Y.; London: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
'What periods are you talking about?' / 'The monthly awkwards. Didn't the girls at Molyneux have them when you were managing director?' / The Rabbit leaned forward, sniffing the air in the immediate vicinity. 'Either you've been drinking or you've got some girl into trouble. Or am I being unfair to you and it's both?'1998, Leo Marks, Between Silk and Cyanide: The Story of SOE's Code War, London: HarperCollins, →ISBN:

1 more example

That is a way to make awkwards. And it's not fun to hang out with awkwards more than once.2014, Grace Helbig, Grace's Guide: The Art of Pretending to Be a Grown-up, New York, N.Y.: Touchstone Books, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 76: