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Moving in a way that does not look — awkward, , a bit uncoordinated. Think of a giraffe running, a person carrying a mattress up narrow , a tall teenager who has not yet learned where their arms are. It is used for people and animals in motion, and also for the way something looks when its shape makes movement awkward: an ungainly walk, an ungainly leap, an ungainly old .
Moving移動起來 in a way以一種方式 that does not look graceful看起來不優雅——awkward, clumsy, a bit uncoordinated笨拙、不靈活，有點不協調。Think of想想 a giraffe running長頸鹿在跑步、a person一個人 carrying a mattress搬著床墊 up narrow stairs爬上窄樓梯、a tall teenager一個高高的青少年 who has not yet learned還沒搞清楚 where their arms are自己的手該放哪。It它 is used被用 for people and animals in motion在人或動物移動的時候，and而且 also也用 for the way something looks形容某樣東西看起來的樣子 when its shape當它的形狀 makes movement awkward讓移動變得笨拙：an ungainly walk一種笨拙的走路方式、an ungainly leap一個笨拙的跳躍、an ungainly old aeroplane一架笨重的老飛機。
The tone is important. "Ungainly" is gentle. It is not an insult the way "" can be, and it is far kinder than "awkward" applied to a person's social manner. Writers often use it with fondness, especially about the young.
The tone語氣 is重要的是 important很重要。"Ungainly"「ungainly」 是 gentle溫和的。It它 is not不是 an insult一種侮辱 the way像「clumsy」那樣 "clumsy"「clumsy」 can be可能會是的，and而且 it它 是 far kinder遠比較溫和 than比 "awkward"「awkward」 applied to用在 a person's social manner一個人的社交舉止上時。Writers作家們 often常常 use it帶著喜愛用它 with fondness帶著疼愛的心情，especially尤其是 about the young講到年輕人的時候。
It can also describe shape rather than motion — an ungainly piece of furniture, an ungainly building — meaning big, badly proportioned, hard to move around.
It它 can also describe也可以形容 shape形狀 rather than而不是 motion動作——an ungainly piece of furniture一件笨重的家具、an ungainly building一棟笨重的建築——meaning意思是 big, badly proportioned大、比例不好，hard to move around不好搬動。
This is a written, slightly literary word. In everyday Taiwanese-classroom English you would probably say "," and that is fine; but when you read novels, "ungainly" is the word that appears.
This這 是 a written, slightly literary word一個書面、稍微文學性的字。In everyday Taiwanese-classroom English在台灣課堂上常見的日常英文裡 you你 would probably say可能會說 "clumsy,"「clumsy」，and而 that這 是 fine也沒關係；but不過 when you read novels當你在讀小說時，"ungainly"「ungainly」 是 the word that appears會出現的那個字。
組成un-（不）+ gainly（優美、合宜的）+ -ly。gainly 來自古北歐語 gegn，意思是「合適、順手、直接」。有趣的是 gainly 這個正面的字現在幾乎沒人用了，反而只有否定的 ungainly 留了下來。
同家族的字
- ungainlinessthe noun form — ungainly + -ness
原始詞典資料6 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
ungainlyadj詞源 1/ʌnˈɡeɪnli/
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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 Old or Young, Man or Woman, without giving them a good Box on the Ear.
- When the young scholar [Samuel Johnson] presented himself to the rulers of that society, they were amazed not more by his ungainly figure and eccentric manners than by the quantity of extensive and curious information which he had picked up during many months of desultory, but not unprofitable study.
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Gangling
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Difficult to move or to manage; unwieldy.
- My lady brought with her from England a most profane instrument, a lute of ungainlie height, at which Master Higginson looketh doubtfully as if it were an instrument of sin, and methinketh Mistresses Mary and Elizabeth Fenwick thinketh it also […]
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obsoleteUnsuitable; 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 heathen nature was never stamped with, for it was not so much their ignorance in which they offended God,—though that was also full of guilt, as hath been proved,—as their misusing of their knowledge to ungainly ends, as either ambition, superstition, or for satisfying their curiosity, as partly hath, and for the present needs not further to be demonstrated.
- For as she could not, alas, select / Twixt ye goodlie and ungainlie, / Why of course 'twas Actions must direct / Her goode opinion,—mainlie.
ungainlynoun詞源 1/ʌnˈɡeɪnli/
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rareAn 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 valet.
- Long lists resulting from the listing technique will often become short poems after you and the student writer's classmates help cull out the unnecessaries, the ungainlies, and the unworthies.
ungainlyadv詞源 2/ʌnˈɡeɪnli/
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obsoleteIn an ungainly or unbecoming manner; improperly; undeservedly, unduly; unsuitably.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。