Awkwardness

noun

noun ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The state or quality of being awkward; clumsiness; unskillfulness. uncountable, usually

    "[…] instead of the joyous voices of his playfellows he hears the rough commands of an unindulgent master or a scolding mistress; — he is continually reproached for his awkwardness and timidity, and reminded of his pauper origin."

  2. 2
    trouble in carrying or managing caused by bulk or shape wordnet
  3. 3
    The quality of an embarrassing situation. uncountable, usually
  4. 4
    the inelegance of someone stiff and unrelaxed (as by embarrassment) wordnet
  5. 5
    the carriage of someone whose movements and posture are ungainly or inelegant wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    the quality of an embarrassing situation wordnet
  2. 7
    unskillfulness resulting from a lack of training wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
clumsinessineptitudeineptnessbotherclumsinessclunkiness

Example

More examples

"I sensed the awkwardness in the room."

Etymology

From awkward + -ness.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.