gawky

adjective \ ˈgȯ-kē \

Definition of gawky

gawkier; gawkiest

: awkward, clumsy

a gawky adolescent

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gawkily

play \ˈgȯ-kə-lē\ adverb

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gawkiness

noun

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gawky

noun

See gawky defined for English-language learners

See gawky defined for kids

Examples of gawky in a Sentence

the stiff, gawky gait of a newborn colt

Recent Examples of gawky from the Web

As Plumb, Pappas is awkward but likable in the lead role, and her gawky charm works well with the film’s quirky approach to its story.

— kimber myers, latimes.com, "Olympian Alexi Pappas packs 'Tracktown' with heart," 11 May 2017
Eva Löbau plays a gawky 27-year-old teacher who arrives at a new job ready to show off her progressive pedagogical methods.

— ben kenigsberg, New York Times, "Film Series in NYC This Week," 26 Jan. 2017
Mr. Klein’s models were barely contained by their Calvins, courting scandal and the occasional recall; Mr. Simons’s are gawky in the European high-fashion style, and barely fill theirs out.

— matthew schneier, New York Times, "Can Raf Simons Reinvent Calvin Klein?," 9 Feb. 2017
Like the scrawny, sixth-round pick out of Michigan, with the gawky 40-yard dash and the chip on his shoulder.

— ryan kartje, Orange County Register, "Kartje: It took the game’s greatest player, Tom Brady, to engineer the greatest comeback," 6 Feb. 2017
How else to explain the intimate, gawky tenderness with which the heads of the dead Christ and the man supporting him touch, almost in a kiss?

— holland cotter, New York Times, "Collecting Strokes of Genius," 12 Oct. 2017
Comparisons were made to Barack Obama, on the basis that the two men both had a certain gawky charm and both appeared to inspire an enormous amount of hope.

— The Economist, "Jokowi at bayIndonesian politics are becoming less predictable," 5 Oct. 2017
As a way of raising funds for Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria, Colbert and Kroll encouraged celebs to submit evidence of their most awkward teen stages, promising to donate $1,000 toward relief efforts for every star’s gawky photo.

— Vogue, "These #PuberMe Challenge Photos Prove That Braces, Breakouts, and Bad Haircuts Are Universal," 1 Oct. 2017
Had Detective Jastrzembski encouraged the victim’s sister to misidentify the tall and gawky David Glenn for the short and squat Inmon Goggans?

— marc bookman, Slate Magazine, "Three Murders in Philadelphia," 12 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gawky.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.