Definition of awkwardly in US English:

adverb

• 1In an ungainly manner; not smoothly or gracefully.

  ‘she waddled up the stairs awkwardly’

  ‘he landed awkwardly after both of his vaults’

  ‘the conclusion seems awkwardly grafted on to the main text’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The transition scenes are handled a little awkwardly.’
  • ‘They are well staged, but somtimes fall awkwardly between uncomfortable realism and Hollywood effectiveness.’
  • ‘A child buys a pair of ice cream cones and stomps awkwardly up a flight of steps.’
  • ‘The figure's unnaturally elongated legs and awkwardly distended fingers seem a bit too mannered.’
  • ‘The directors' faces look cut out, almost as if by hand, and fit awkwardly against the mountain backdrop.’
  • ‘She stares straight ahead with her right hand on her hip and her left arm awkwardly looped through her father's elbow.’
  • ‘We all sat in close quarters, awkwardly shuffling our coats and bags.’
  • ‘Awkwardly sited on the river meander, the bridge has an uncomfortable relationship with the freeway.’
  • ‘Given enough webbing, Spider-Man gets awkwardly tangled.’
  • ‘In her portraits, the head fits awkwardly on the clothing.’

• 2In a way that shows uneasy embarrassment.

  ‘Seth responded awkwardly, allowing the silence once again to settle between them’

  ‘I cleared my throat awkwardly’

  More example sentences

  • ‘She let go of him and they both looked around, rocking on their heels awkwardly.’
  • ‘Samantha awkwardly tucked her hair behind her ear and bit the inside of her lip.’
  • ‘"Um, thanks," Kate replied awkwardly, turning her head away to stare shyly at the bench.’
  • ‘He just stood there awkwardly for a moment, looking down at her from his full six feet of height.’
  • ‘Awkwardly, I tried to start a conversation, hoping that he would have forgotten about what had happened on Sunday.’
  • ‘Hiss eyes didn't leave me, which forced me to turn away awkwardly.’
  • ‘They stood there awkwardly, staring into each other's eyes.’
  • ‘He was suddenly awkwardly aware of the girls walking toward him, especially the dark-haired one in the middle.’
  • ‘He scratched the back of his head awkwardly while giving a grin.’
  • ‘He coughed awkwardly and Alison could see him place his hand on her knee.’

• 3In a way that causes difficulty.

  ‘the cruise control is placed awkwardly on the control column’

  ‘the ball bounced awkwardly, but Auguste controlled it with his chest’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The stylish analog clock is awkwardly placed low and to the right of the driver.’
  • ‘They can be accessed only via a function key awkwardly placed on the outside of the control key.’
  • ‘Furthermore, the socket's retention lever is awkwardly positioned and very difficult to reach.’
  • ‘No longer do drivers have to tolerate awkwardly placed controls as quirks of the car's British heritage.’
  • ‘The hallway was entered via an awkwardly placed entrance door.’
  • ‘Boats can be booby traps, with things like cleats placed awkwardly around the deck to stub bare feet or even send you tumbling overboard.’
  • ‘Part of the original wall paintings have been preserved to this day due to the difficult access to the awkwardly situated chapel.’
  • ‘The controls were awkwardly designed, with the viewfinder on the far right end of the camera, and the shutter release on the left.’
  • ‘Find the deeply nested or otherwise awkwardly located folder and right-click on it.’
  • ‘Four of the six computer ports are mounted awkwardly between the slots.’