not at ease socially; unsure and constrained in manner; "awkward and reserved at parties"; "ill at ease among eddies of people he didn't know"; "was always uneasy with strangers"
causing inconvenience; "they arrived at an awkward time"
hard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment; "awkward (or embarrassing or difficult) moments in the discussion"; "an awkward pause followed his remark"; "a sticky question"; "in the unenviable position of resorting to an act he had planned to save for the climax of the campaign"
not elegant or graceful in expression; "an awkward prose style"; "a clumsy apology"; "his cumbersome writing style"; "if the rumor is true, can anything be more inept than to repeat it now?"
lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance; "an awkward dancer"; "an awkward gesture"; "too awkward with a needle to make her own clothes"; "his clumsy fingers produced an awkward knot"
difficult to handle or manage especially because of shape; "an awkward bundle to carry"; "a load of bunglesome paraphernalia"; "clumsy wooden shoes"; "the cello, a rather ungainly instrument for a girl"
difficult to accomplish; demanding considerable mental effort and skill; "the arduous work of preparing a dictionary"
characterized by toilsome effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort; "worked their arduous way up the mining valley"; "a grueling campaign"; "hard labor"; "heavy work"; "heavy going"; "spent many laborious hours on the project"; "set a punishing pace"
taxing to the utmost; testing powers of endurance; "his final, straining burst of speed"; "a strenuous task"; "your willingness after these six arduous days to remain here"- F.D.Roosevelt