INELEGANT Synonyms: 161 Similar and Opposite Words

inelegant

adjective

(ˌ)i-ˈne-li-gənt

Definition of inelegant

as in uncomfortable

lacking social grace and assurance inelegant teens still learning how to act at formal events

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in inappropriate

marked by an obvious lack of style or good taste inelegant furniture that looked like it belonged in a budget motel

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 inelegant This strikes me as an inelegant way to write Tommy off the show, if that’s indeed what’s happening. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 27 Apr. 2026 Hockey was a bruising, inelegant sport played in the frozen tundra of Canada and the upper Midwest when Vachon was traded from the Montreal Canadiens to the Kings in the winter of 1971. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026 But its blunt, inelegant dialogue is peppered with characters (metaphorically) vomiting up their darkest secrets. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2026 The traffic, bachelorette party buses and more inelegant tourists are far out of sight and view from up here. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for inelegant

Recent Examples of Synonyms for inelegant

Adjective

The quarterback Mike Macdonald has earned his paychecks from making quarterbacks uncomfortable.

— Sam McDowell October 25, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2026
Probably not enough to win, but enough to make laying nearly a touchdown uncomfortable.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of uncomfortable

Adjective

Her colleagues voted twice last year to censure her for inappropriate criticism of city employees.

— Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Specifically, Pickard said his understanding of the immunity deal is that his testimony about adultery and an inappropriate relationship cannot be used against him as part of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

— Matt Schooley, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of inappropriate

Adjective

Here, his clumsy, winky, affected, and self-undercutting direction can’t even work the charming Jenna Ortega to a great performance, as her Klara is flattened into a bundle of manic pixie mannerisms both physical and verbal.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 20 Oct. 2026
Some Latinas are nerds, and some Latinas are quirky, and some of them are goofy and some of them are clumsy.

— Johanna Ferreira, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of clumsy

Adjective

Use safer payment methods When shopping online, paying with a credit card generally gives you stronger protections if an order never arrives or a charge is incorrect.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026
The figures represent requests for financial assistance, not necessarily complaints about incorrect water bills.

— Jamal Goss, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of incorrect

Adjective

The Basketmaker—whose skills go far beyond furniture making—weaves her a match, Fiddler on the Roof-like, and the Fisherwoman, after an awkward matrimonial moment, takes Wicker Husband home to her funky little cottage.

— Valerie Monroe, Allure, 23 Oct. 2026
The pushback is awkward for a government that went out of its way to land the project.

— Joshua Hong, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of awkward

Adjective

At one unsuitable Gramercy apartment, Taylor encountered Cam Armand, a salesperson on the Kota team at Compass, and the Folwells enlisted his help.

— Joyce Cohen, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
In a setting designed to make exceptional yachts desirable, explaining why a particular vessel is unsuitable requires commercial discipline.

— Christoph Lymbersky, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of unsuitable

Adjective

But bond markets are already uneasy with Brazil's growing debt-to-GDP ratio, and are likely to demand an ever-higher premium if public spending rises significantly.

— Jenni Reid, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2026
The effort is backed by an uneasy alliance between the right-wing Make America Healthy Again movement and progressives, both motivated by concerns over food safety.

— Elijah Wolfson, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of uneasy

Adjective

Chemically straightened Afro hairstyles had gone from being the default to increasingly unfashionable.

— Ata-owaji Victor, Vogue, 13 Oct. 2026
The dressing room—with its old Persian rug and deeply unfashionable mahogany desk—is just wrong enough to be, well, cool.

— Plum Sykes, Architectural Digest, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of unfashionable

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“Inelegant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inelegant. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of inelegant

adjective

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