ungainly

adjective un·gain·ly \ ˌən-ˈgān-lē \

Updated on: 28 Nov 2017

Definition of ungainly

1 a : lacking in smoothness or dexterity : clumsy

ungainly movements

b : hard to handle : unwieldy

an ungainly contraption

2 : having an awkward appearance

a large ungainly bird

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ungainliness

noun

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See ungainly defined for kids

ungainly was our Word of the Day on 08/19/2011. Hear the podcast!

Examples of ungainly in a Sentence

He was tall and ungainly.
getting the ungainly couch up the stairs was a real chore

Recent Examples of ungainly from the Web

The 12th was Hunter Pence, an ungainly but effective player for much of his career, a three-time All-Star mired in his worst season ever.

— andy mccullough, latimes.com, "Dodgers beat Giants 2-1 to extend win streak to seven games," 29 July 2017
Since then, the two-wheeler has experienced a steady, if sometimes ungainly, evolution, from the baron’s brainchild to the sleek, 14-pound machines seen in the Tour de France.

— austin murphy, SI.com, "Veloci-Rapture: At 200 Years Old, A Look At the Bicycle’s Effect on Health, Sports and Culture," 24 July 2017
That’s not a huge difference, yet the new car is a bit more pleasing to the eye than the ungainly 5-series GT.

— Car and Driver, "New Cars for 2018: BMW," 10 Oct. 2017
Barack Obama cobbled together ungainly policy compromises as a way of working around the implacability of the Republican Party.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump’s Immigration Plan Is Obamacare Repeal All Over," 5 Sep. 2017
Jojo, the reluctant hero, is a classic Ward protagonist: a tender, ungainly teenager — easy prey.

— parul sehgal, New York Times, "Faulkner and Other Ghosts Sing Through Jesmyn Ward’s New Novel," 5 Sep. 2017
Efforts to modernize this ungainly coalition have proceeded in fits and starts.

— david m. drucker, vanityfair.com, "Trump, “Heritage,” and the G.O.P.’s White Identity Crisis," 27 Oct. 2017
Efforts to modernize this ungainly coalition have proceeded in fits and starts.

— david m. drucker, The Hive, "Trump, “Heritage,” and the G.O.P.’s White Identity Crisis," 27 Oct. 2017
As of July, the lake was down to 25 percent of its capacity; officials were racing to have 240 boat owners move their ungainly vessels.

— mike sager, Esquire, "Growing Almonds in the Desert," 25 Feb. 2015

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

Did You Know?

What do you have to gain by knowing the root of "ungainly?" Plenty. The "gain" in "ungainly" is an obsolete English adjective meaning "direct," ultimately derived from the Old Norse preposition gegn, meaning "against." (The unrelated verb "gain" came to English by way of Anglo-French and is related to an Old High German word meaning "to hunt for food.") "Ungainly" can describe someone who’s clumsy (as in "a tall and ungainly man"), or something that causes you to feel clumsy when you try to handle it (as in "a car with ungainly controls"), or something that simply looks awkward and out of place (as in "an ungainly strip mall").

Origin and Etymology of ungainly

obsolete gain direct, from Middle English gayn, geyn, from Old English gēn, from Old Norse gegn, from gegn, preposition, against; akin to Old English gēan- against — more at again

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1611

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