What does "ungainly" mean?
An ungainly person or thing.
Ungainly
/ʌnˈɡeɪnli/ adj, adv, noun
adj, adv, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An ungainly person or thing.
- Grammar: ungainly is listed as adj, adv, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: awkward, clumsy, gawky, unwieldy.
- Useful contrasts: gainly, acrobatic, agile.
- Usage evidence: Very tall people can often be ungainly.
How to use "ungainly"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "ungainly" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "ungainly" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "ungainly" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "ungainly" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "ungainly" is acting as adj, adv, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "awkward" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "ungainly", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An ungainly person or thing. rare
"I was completely subdued:—hungry, cold, wet, and chilled, outside and inside, with the weather, and the place, and the people,—but that's a bull, for I saw nobody except two ungainly country footmen, and a fat groom of the chambers who took me to my room, and assigned me one of the ungainlies as valet."
Adjective
- 1 Clumsy; lacking grace.
"They being a very ſilly ſort of People, had no other way to ſhew their Spight and Reſentment, than by making Mouths at the Dutch as they paſſed by, and ſometimes Spitting upon them. To break them of that ungainly Cuſtom, we made a reſolution amongſt us, never to let any paſs by that did ſo, whether Old or Young, Man or Woman, without giving them a good Box on the Ear."
- 2 Difficult to move or to manage; unwieldy.
"My lady brought with her from England a most profane instrument, a lute of ungainlie height, at which Master Higginson looketh doubtfully as if it were an instrument of sin, and methinketh Mistresses Mary and Elizabeth Fenwick thinketh it also […]"
- 3 Unsuitable; unprofitable. obsolete
"And this is the excellency and perfection of a Christian, infinitely above the reach of the proudest moralists; this is the repentance of a Christian, whereby he makes up those defects which were most eminently notorious in the heathen; this is the impression of the humbling spirit, which proud heathen nature was never stamped with, for it was not so much their ignorance in which they offended God,—though that was also full of guilt, as hath been proved,—as their misusing of their knowledge to ungainly ends, as either ambition, superstition, or for satisfying their curiosity, as partly hath, and for the present needs not further to be demonstrated."
Adjective
- 1 lacking grace in movement or posture wordnet
- 2 difficult to handle or manage especially because of shape wordnet
Adverb
- 1 In an ungainly or unbecoming manner; improperly; undeservedly, unduly; unsuitably. obsolete
Example
"Very tall people can often be ungainly."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "ungainly"?
Common synonyms include: awkward, clumsy, gawky, unwieldy, all thumbs, awkward.
How do you use "ungainly" in a sentence?
Very tall people can often be ungainly.
How do you pronounce "ungainly"?
Pronounced /ʌnˈɡeɪnli/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”).
Etymology 2
ungain (from un- + gain (“dexterous; convenient, easy, handy; suitable”)) + -ly.