Link Centre Dictionary

ungainly

un·gainly

US/ʌnˈɡeɪnli/ fairly common

adjective

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”
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”

Origin

From un- (“not”) + gainly (“graceful; becoming; proper, suitable; gracious, kindly”) (from gain (“dexterous; convenient, easy, handy; suitable”), from Old Norse gegn (“fit, serviceable; direct, straight; honest; kindly”) + -ly (suffix forming adjectives from nouns)). Compare dialectal Norwegian Nynorsk ugjegnleg (“stubborn; troublesome”).

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.