ungainly

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
ungainly
    adj 1: 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" [syn: {gawky}, {clumsy}, {clunky},
           {ungainly}, {unwieldy}]
    2: 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" [syn: {awkward},
       {bunglesome}, {clumsy}, {ungainly}]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Ungainly \Un*gain"ly\, a. [OE. ungeinliche, adv., fr. ungein
   inconvenient; un- + Icel. gegn ready, serviceable; adv.,
   against, opposite. See {Un-} not, and {Gain}, a., {Again}.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. Not gainly; not expert or dexterous; clumsy; awkward;
      uncouth; as, an ungainly strut in walking.
      [1913 Webster]

            His ungainly figure and eccentric manners.
                                                  --Macaulay.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Unsuitable; unprofitable. [Obs.] --Hammond.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Ungainly \Un*gain"ly\, adv.
   In an ungainly manner.
   [1913 Webster]
    
from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
42 Moby Thesaurus words for "ungainly":
      all thumbs, awkward, blunderheaded, blundering, boorish, bumbling,
      bungling, butterfingered, careless, clownish, clumsy,
      clumsy-fisted, cumbersome, fingers all thumbs, fumbling, gauche,
      gawkish, gawky, graceless, ham-fisted, ham-handed, heavy-handed,
      hulking, hulky, inelegant, left-hand, left-handed, loutish,
      lubberly, lumbering, lumpish, maladroit, oafish, ponderous, sloppy,
      splay, stiff, uncouth, ungraced, ungraceful, unhandy, unwieldy

    

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