ungainly
/ʌn'geinli/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- 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
- 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 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