ungainly
pronunciation
How to pronounce ungainly in British English:
UK [ʌnˈgeɪnli]
How to pronounce ungainly in American English:
US [ʌnˈɡenli]
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- Adjective:
- lacking grace in movement or posture
- difficult to handle or manage especially because of shape
Word Origin
- ungainly (adj.)
- 1610s, "unfit, improper," from Middle English ungeinliche, from ungein (late 14c.) "inconvenient, disagreeable, troublesome," from un- (1) "not" + gein "kind, helpful; reliable; beneficial; suitable, appropriate; convenient," from Old Norse gegn "straight, direct, helpful," from Proto-Germanic *gagina "against" (see again). Old English had ungænge "useless, vain."
Example
- 1. Not so long ago , this ungainly partnership was faring poorly .
- 2. Opposite to her , her husband stretched his ungainly length in a deck - chair , and turned over a pile of official notes .
- 3. The warthogs are ungainly looking aircraft whose dangerous job it is to fly low and slow over battlefields , bringing their guns and rockets to bear on enemy targets below .
- 4. Overall , windows 7 is a radically improved and " cleaned up " version of what has come before . If you had problems with vista 's bugginess , lack of hardware support or its ungainly look and feel , you might be interested in giving windows 7 a try .
- 5. He could indeed look a little ungainly .