[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

awkward \awk"ward\ addk"we~erd, a. awk + -ward.
   1. wanting dexterity in the use of the hands, or of
      instruments; not dexterous; without skill; clumsy; wanting
      ease, grace, or effectiveness in movement; ungraceful; as,
      he was awkward at a trick; an awkward boy.
      1913 webster

            and dropped an awkward courtesy.      --dryden.
      1913 webster

   2. not easily managed or effected; embarrassing.
      1913 webster

            a long and awkward process.           --macaulay.
      1913 webster

            an awkward affair is one that has gone wrong, and is
            difficult to adjust.                  --c. j. smith.
      1913 webster

   3. perverse; adverse; untoward. obs. "awkward casualties."
      "awkward wind." --shak.
      1913 webster

            o blind guides, which being of an awkward religion,
            do strain out a gnat, and swallow up a cancel.
                                                  --udall.
      1913 webster

   syn: ungainly; unhandy; clownish; lubberly; gawky; maladroit;
        bungling; inelegant; ungraceful; unbecoming.

   usage: awkward, clumsy, uncouth. awkward has a special
          reference to outward deportment. a man is clumsy in
          his whole person, he is awkward in his gait and the
          movement of his limbs. clumsiness is seen at the first
          view. awkwardness is discovered only when a person
          begins to move. hence the expressions, a clumsy
          appearance, and an awkward manner. when we speak
          figuratively of an awkward excuse, we think of a lack
          of ease and grace in making it; when we speak of a
          clumsy excuse, we think of the whole thing as coarse
          and stupid. we apply the term uncouth most frequently
          to that which results from the lack of instruction or
          training; as, uncouth manners; uncouth language.
          1913 webster -- awk"wardly
          addk"we~erdly^, adv. -- awk"wardness, n.
          1913 webster
see also:
awkward clumsy uncouth awk"wardly awk"wardness 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

awkwardness
     n 1: unskillfulness resulting from a lack of training syn: clumsiness,
           ineptness, ineptitude, maladroitness, slowness
     2: the quality of an embarrassing situation; "he sensed the
        awkwardness of his proposal" syn: nuisance value
     3: the carriage of someone whose movements and posture are
        ungainly or inelegant syn: clumsiness ant: gracefulness
     4: the inelegance of someone stiff and unrelaxed as by
        embarrassment syn: clumsiness, gracelessness, stiffness
     5: trouble in carrying or managing caused by bulk or shape;
        "the movers cursed the unwieldiness of the big piano"
        syn: cumbersomeness, unwieldiness
see also:
clumsiness ineptness ineptitude maladroitness slowness nuisance value 
gracefulness gracelessness stiffness cumbersomeness unwieldiness 

Awkwardness >> A Words
Awkwardness, definition of term: Awkwardness
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