Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Lacking grace in movement or appearance; awkward: Describes a person, animal, or object that moves or is shaped in a clumsy, uncoordinated, or unattractive manner.
   • Difficult to handle or manage because of shape or size; unwieldy: Describes an object that is cumbersome or awkward to move or use.

Examples of Usage

• Describing a person or creature:
  • The young deer was still ungainly on its new legs.
  • He felt ungainly and self-conscious on the dance floor.
• Describing an object:
  • The old, ungainly furniture was difficult to move through the narrow doorway.
  • She struggled with the ungainly package.

Advanced Usage

• Comparative and Superlative Forms: "ungainlier," "ungainliest." These forms are used but are less common than "more ungainly" and "most ungainly."
  • Of all the newborn animals, the foal was the most ungainly.
• Adverbial Form: "ungainly." The adjective can function as an adverb in some contexts, though "ungainlily" is extremely rare and not standard.
  • He climbed ungainly out of the small boat.

Variants and Related Words

• Ungainliness (noun): The quality or state of being ungainly.
  • The ungainliness of the large bird made it an easy target for predators.

Synonyms

• Awkward: Lacking skill or grace in physical movement or social behavior.
• Clumsy: Moving or acting in a careless, uncoordinated way, often causing accidents.
• Gawky: Tall, thin, and awkward in movement (often used for adolescents).
• Unwieldy: Difficult to carry or move because of size, shape, or weight.
• Uncoordinated: Lacking physical coordination.

Antonyms

• Graceful: Having or showing grace or elegance.
• Agile: Able to move quickly and easily.
• Nimble: Quick and light in movement or action.
• Elegant: Pleasingly graceful and stylish in appearance or manner.

Idioms and Common Phrases

• While "ungainly" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, it is often used in descriptive phrases that have become common:
  • "Ungainly as a newborn calf": A simile emphasizing extreme clumsiness.

    • On the ice skates, he was as ungainly as a newborn calf.

Adjective

1. 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
2. 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