awkward

Adjective

• socially uncomfortable; unsure and constrained in manner
  • awkward and reserved at parties
    
  • ill at ease among eddies of people he didn't know
    
  • was always uneasy with strangers
    

• hard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment
  • awkward (or embarrassing or difficult) moments in the discussion
    
  • an awkward pause followed his remark
    
  • a sticky question
    
  • in the unenviable position of resorting to an act he had planned to save for the climax of the campaign
    

• not elegant or graceful in expression
  • an awkward prose style
    
  • a clumsy apology
    
  • his cumbersome writing style
    
  • if the rumor is true, can anything be more inept than to repeat it now?
    

• 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
    

• lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance
  • an awkward dancer
    
  • an awkward gesture
    
  • too awkward with a needle to make her own clothes
    
  • his clumsy fingers produced an awkward knot
    

• causing inconvenience
  • they arrived at an awkward time
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  ill at ease(p) , uneasy , embarrassing , sticky , unenviable , clumsy , cumbersome , inapt , inept , ill-chosen , bunglesome , ungainly