lacking grace in movement or posture - a gawky lad with long ungainly legs - clumsy fingers - what an ungainly creature a giraffe is - heaved his unwieldy figure out of his chair • Syn: clumsy, clunky, ungainly, unwieldy • Similar to: awkward • Derivationally related forms: ungainliness (for: ungainly), clumsiness (for: clumsy), gawk, gawkiness