adjective · rare

ungainly

un·gain·ly

ungainly · ungainlier · ungainliest

незграбний

неуклюжий, неповоротливый

unschön, plump, unansehnlich, ungelenk

Clumsy; lacking graceClumsy; lacking grace.

ⓘ

/ʌnˈɡeɪnli/

» Very tall people can often be ungainly.

Meaning

4 senses

Clumsy; lacking grace.
plump, unansehnlich, unelegant
неуклюжийneukljúžij
незгра́бнийnezhrábnyj
lacking grace in movement or posture
Gangling
Difficult to move or to manage; unwieldy.
неповоротливыйnepovorótlivyj
difficult to handle or manage especially because of shape
(obsolete)Unsuitable; unprofitable.

Examples

6 sentences

Very tall people can often be ungainly.
CC BY · Tatoeba · patgfisher · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
His ungainly movements on the dance floor drew everyone's attention.
CC BY · Tatoeba · Amastan · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
She felt self-conscious about her ungainly attempts at ice skating.
CC BY · Tatoeba · Amastan · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
The toddler's first steps were ungainly as she wobbled and stumbled.
CC BY · Tatoeba · Amastan · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
The ogre's terrible size and strength were tempered only by its ungainly movement.
CC0 · Tatoeba · shekitten · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem

Translations

7 languages

Українська

By meaning 1

clumsy:

Русский

By meaning 2

clumsy:

difficult to move:

Deutsch

By meaning 1

clumsy:

Origin

From un- (“not”) + gainly (“graceful; becoming; proper, suitable; gracious, kindly”) (from

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”).

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source