awkwardly

adverb

Definition of awkwardlynext
1
as in clumsily

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Dissimilar Words
2
as in ungracefully

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of awkwardly When the replacement arrived, the new cotton felt stiff, less breathable, and one side seam veered off at an angle, pulling the fabric awkwardly around my body. — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026 Thanks to the single-floor layout, both are easy to access without awkwardly climbing ladders and both also offer ample headroom to stand upright. — New Atlas, 23 Oct. 2026 If O’Gieblyn’s self-diagnosis is right, the collapse of will that led to her loss of faith is awkwardly close to a collapse of will that might lead to her return to faith. — James Wood, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026 Canada banged awkwardly into Williams’ knee on a box out during her late free throws and the Valkyries star was being cared for by an athletic trainer on the bench in the waning moments. — Janie McCauley, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026 Canada banged awkwardly into Williams’ knee on a box out during her late free throws and the Valkyries’ star was being cared for by an athletic trainer on the bench in the waning moments. — Janie McCauley, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026 The winger, who spent last season with Toronto, stepped on the stick of defenseman Darren Raddysh and fell awkwardly. — ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026 There’s a too-much-ness to Street Fighter that extends beyond its tone to an overstuffed and awkwardly unfurled plot that sends characters scrambling in all directions to no particular end. — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026 And yet the actors have an almost startling lack of connection because every line they’re tasked with reading plays as if from a mouthpiece trying to force someone else’s words out, awkwardly and clunkily. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 7 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for awkwardly
  1. clumsily
  2. irrelevantly
  3. ineptly
  4. unfortunately
  5. gracelessly
Adverb
  • All the while, the question of whether they’re related by blood lurks in the background, kicked slowly down the road until the finale clumsily throws it into focus.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 23 Sep. 2026
  • What detracts from the film is the clumsily emphatic foreshadowing of a dramatic plot turn, which is pretty much spelled out by an alarm company technician who sells Miguel on the wisdom of upgrading to a next-level home security system.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of clumsily
Adverb
  • Grandma, irrelevantly but convincingly, spoke of wars, blizzards and trekking barefoot to school.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 July 2026
Definition of irrelevantly
Adverb
  • The collapse of the Constitution’s balance of powers between three branches of government got us into an unneeded war conducted ineptly.
    — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026
  • Dancing the Poznan really ineptly, mind you, but dancing nonetheless.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 8 Sep. 2025
Definition of ineptly
Adverb
  • And unfortunately, there was another part of our party that didn't choose to be responsible with their firearm and fired too closely in my direction.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The primary problem is, unfortunately, Lily Rabe, who plays Brooke in a different, blunter register than everyone else onstage.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of unfortunately
Adverb
  • Lines that are too close together reinforce the author’s supremacy, gracelessly.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026
  • This kind of beauty has nothing to do with perfection, which is distributed so arbitrarily and approximated so gracelessly.
    — Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 11 July 2026
Definition of gracelessly

Browse Nearby Words

awkward
awkwardly
awkwardness
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Cite this Entry

“Awkwardly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/awkwardly. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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