ungainly
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ungainly¹
- /ʌnˈɡeɪnli/ Canada, US, UK
- /anˈɡæɪnli/ Australia
Where it comes 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”).
adjective ungainlier · more ungainly · ungainliest · most ungainly · ungainlie
- 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
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Gangling.
Similar: gawky
- Difficult to move or to manage; unwieldy. The quotations in this entry are an ungainly assortment.
- Unsuitable; unprofitable. 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 heat
noun ungainlies
- An ungainly person or thing. 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 val
ungainly²
- /ʌnˈɡeɪnli/ Canada, US, UK
- /anˈɡæɪnli/ Australia
Where it comes from
ungain (from un- + gain (“dexterous; convenient, easy, handy; suitable”)) + -ly.
adverb ungainlier · more ungainly · ungainliest · most ungainly
- In an ungainly or unbecoming manner; improperly; undeservedly, unduly; unsuitably.
Translations
Every language
adj clumsy
| Español | desgarbado |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 不器用 Bukiyō |
| Français | maladroit |
| Deutsch | plump, unansehnlich, unelegant, ungelenk, ungraziös, unschön |
| Ελληνικά | άγαρμπος ágarmpos |
| Русский | неуклюжий neukljúžij |
adj difficult to move
| Español | revuelto |
|---|---|
| Ελληνικά | δυσκίνητος dyskínitos |
| Русский | неповоротливый nepovorótlivyj |
Talk about this word "ungainly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ungainly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. ungainly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ungainly "ungainly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ungainly.Cite this
@misc{ungainly_2026,
title = {ungainly},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ungainly},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
