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# awkwardly

«awkwardly» in Mova's school dictionary: **not smooth or easy, as in «he fell awkwardly»** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adverb (awkwardly)

### meaning for a pupil

1) In a clumsy way that is not smooth or easy, as in «he fell awkwardly». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/awkwardly/#m1)

2) In an embarrassed or uncomfortable way, as when nobody knows what to say. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/awkwardly/#m2)

3) In a way that is hard to handle or badly placed, as in «an awkwardly shaped box». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/awkwardly/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In stories it tells the reader that a character feels shy, embarrassed or clumsy, or that a moment is uncomfortable. In PE and safety talk, «landed awkwardly» means landed badly and could get hurt. Phrases: «laughed awkwardly», «stood awkwardly», «fell awkwardly».

### examples

- She landed awkwardly and twisted her ankle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/awkwardly/#x1)
- He smiled awkwardly when everyone sang to him. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/awkwardly/#x2)
- The two new boys stood awkwardly by the door. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/awkwardly/#x3)
- The sofa was awkwardly shaped and would not fit through the door. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/awkwardly/#x4)
- I awkwardly tried to hold three bags and an umbrella. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/awkwardly/#x5)
- They laughed awkwardly after the joke fell flat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/awkwardly/#x6)
- The bus stop is awkwardly placed on a busy corner. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/awkwardly/#x7)
- He fell so awkwardly that his head stuck in the mud, and there he stood with his legs straight up in the air. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/awkwardly/#x8)

### note

Adverb from the adjective «awkward»; it describes how something is done. Spelling trap: awk-ward-ly has a w twice (awkward). Comparative: more awkwardly. Opposites: smoothly, gracefully, comfortably.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «awkwardly» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/awkwardly/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.