adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a difficult/an awkward stage
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He was 13 and going through that awkward stage.
a difficult/awkward age (= used mainly about the time when people are teenagers )
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13 – 16 is often a difficult age.
a difficult/awkward position
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I was in the difficult position of having to choose between them.
an awkward pause
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After an awkward pause, Ray began to answer my question.
an awkward position
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My foot was in an awkward position.
an awkward question (= one that someone does not want to answer )
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How can we keep the press from asking awkward questions?
an awkward/uncomfortable/embarrassed silence
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‘Fred tells me you like books,’ Steve said, after an awkward silence.
find yourself in a similar/awkward etc position
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The refugee organizations now found themselves in a difficult position.
put/place sb in a good/awkward etc position
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I'm sorry if I put you in an awkward position.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
more
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A more awkward business, ours here.
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In fact, the Newtonian problem is a much more awkward one than that put forward by Fredkin and Toffoli.
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The corner is awkward , much more awkward than was recognised when, in 1965, Professor Robinson coined the phrase.
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Her other inconsistencies presaged more awkward problems.
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His pace slowed, his rhythm became even more awkward .
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In fact, I found the interface more awkward to use than WordStar's.
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It could well make life more awkward for ministers.
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As it was, the prince's age could hardly have been more awkward .
most
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The most awkward of these are the manager's expenses when travelling at the request and on behalf of the artist.
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Ingrid was the one who found it most awkward .
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They're determined to expose your pitiful lack of knowledge at the most awkward moments.
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And I don't think I need point out that I am in the most awkward situation of all.
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Not if he arranged it at the most awkward time of the year? a little voice rejoined.
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They remember you at your most awkward and unformed and they take delight in reminding you of it.
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Some of the most awkward times can be social situations both within and outside of work.
rather
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She was long-legged and rather awkward and didn't do things quickly even when she got started!
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It is rather awkward to get your fingers into, so scrap it if you can't use it.
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The few shoppers who are searching for soap powder feel rather awkward .
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They had something rather awkward and difficult to tell her.
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I found these rather awkward to fit.
really
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Before things could get really awkward , there was a movement from the other end of the hall.
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I realize my generation has made some really awkward attempts to change that equation.
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Awkward questions Sometimes even well-meaning interviewers will throw you a really awkward question.
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At best it was pointless; at worst it could be really awkward .
slightly
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Captain Duro had become fond of this tall, slightly awkward girl.
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In it Amelia gave a slightly awkward interview.
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In a slightly awkward movement, he shows her out the door.
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He even felt slightly awkward sitting out with her in a public place having coffee.
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He felt slightly awkward , as though he were in a strange woman's room.
so
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Why am I being so awkward ?
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What was he so awkward about?
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He was an exuberant conversationalist, and I surrendered in silence to his narratives, feeling so awkward about presenting my own.
too
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Her limbs were splayed at angles too awkward for comfort.
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It looked bulky, but was well designed, and not too awkward to wear.
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Maybe she felt it was too awkward ?
very
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The Department can be very awkward at times.
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It showed a tumor in the frontal lobe in a very awkward place: close to the motor strip and language areas.
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George stood in the middle of the two pairs, feeling very awkward and uncomfortable.
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But I found the tessitura very awkward here and there.
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Things became very awkward between us afterwards and, as a result, I had to quit my job.
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This was not only humiliating but also very awkward for Baldwin.
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The two officers, using false documents, attempted to leave New Zealand but were caught.It was a very awkward situation.
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It would be very awkward if she called at the house and Miss Watson were just about to come over.
■ NOUN
age
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He was approaching the awkward age in a professional golfer's career.
angle
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Soldiers were leaning against the walls, their guns slung at awkward angles as they smoked and chatted.
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And you may find adjustable soil and drain elbows, useful for awkward angles .
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The Braun Oral-B Plaque Remover has tiny round-ended bristles that clean every awkward angle of your teeth.
fact
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It is possible, though, to make too much of this undoubtedly awkward fact .
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At this point an awkward fact will become manifest.
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It is usually possible, too, to live with awkward facts as anomalies awaiting further explanation.
moment
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But at this awkward moment , Aurangzeb suddenly recovered.
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Ask a question, especially if an awkward moment is coming on.
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Madame Czechowska felt embarrassed and it was Zborowski who coped with the awkward moment .
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It was a painful, awkward moment .
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The gradualists say this is an awkward moment , and they are right: it always is.
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They're determined to expose your pitiful lack of knowledge at the most awkward moments .
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In the campaign itself there was one awkward moment and that was on the issue of private health.
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Economic difficulties are foreclosing on Mr Lawson at an awkward moment for the Government.
pause
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His eyebrows rose slightly at her scarcely hidden hostility, and there was an awkward pause .
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An awkward pause swelled in the room.
position
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This is not a good idea as it puts the candidate in the awkward position of not knowing how to address you.
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She watched him assume the awkward position .
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Check, though, that she isn't sleeping in an awkward position , which may sometimes cause the problem.
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Katz put Ford in an incredibly awkward position as well.
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The porter was expecting them and let Maxim park in an awkward position on the forecourt pavement.
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This leaves Colonial Williamsburg in an awkward position .
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The affected fish had previously been swimming on its head and it spine had become deformed due to its awkward position .
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You can lose your friends if you put them in the awkward position of trying to get business for you.
question
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Don't be afraid to ask awkward questions .
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Missile defence has a political momentum that makes a supposedly awkward question such as whether it really works pale almost into irrelevance.
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Overfamiliarity at this stage also makes asking awkward questions more difficult.
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The extra thirty days for a successful crossing raised some awkward questions .
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To have assumed otherwise would have been to raise a number of awkward questions .
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My knowledge of history and myself made me ask awkward questions .
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He's asking awkward questions , he's probably a spy.
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Maybe have a walk down the fence line to consider our position and prepare ourselves for awkward questions .
shape
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This simplifies fitting around awkward shapes . 2 Lay the vinyl in place with surplus curling up the wall.
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You may also want to tile awkward shapes such as the window recesses, or things like bath surrounds.
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Any child who is encouraged to explore these aspects will learn the awkward shapes of words quite naturally.
silence
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An awkward silence fell between them.
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When we got to the restaurant, there was an awkward silence as I took out my tape recorder.
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There was another awkward silence , broken by the laughter from the bar.
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Spider said after an awkward silence .
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There was an awkward silence which Maidstone might have broken with some amiable remark to save Sandison's face.
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An awkward silence would do them both good.
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If Jack had been at all concerned that his impulsive gesture would result in an awkward silence he need not have worried.
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She figured the awkward silence was partly the result of people believing that only big topics were worthy of being discussed.
situation
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He had good taste and was most helpful in extricating one from awkward situations .
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He could already smell the awkward situations .
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And with Superstyle Twin Track, a valance rail allows you to add a little extra style even in those awkward situations .
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Plenty of yuks ensue as she struggles with the awkward situation .
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Winterburn almost put the ball into his own net from Milligan's cross, O'Leary recovering an awkward situation .
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Suddenly the boss found himself in an awkward situation .
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And I don't think I need point out that I am in the most awkward situation of all.
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Some call it treason; others tell them to be quiet and not make an awkward situation worse.
time
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Even so, this shift in thinking is taking place at an awkward time .
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So we had an awkward time .
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There were awkward times as well as good times, and subjects on which we could never agree.
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The incident came at an awkward time , preceding by a few days a visit by the Chief Rabbi.
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Not if he arranged it at the most awkward time of the year? a little voice rejoined.
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Some of the most awkward times can be social situations both within and outside of work.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
awkward/tricky/tough etc customer
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A tough customer , a man to be reckoned with.
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But he'd take on some one like Glenda Grower, who's a much tougher customer .
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But the tough treatment was only for tough customers .
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He's overcome some genuinely tough customers , but Gimenez was abject.
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He looks a tough customer to deal with.
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The next, you're making speeches to the wind. Tricky customers , ordinary people.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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an awkward silence
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an awkward teenager
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Bud turned round and gave an awkward wave out of the car window.
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Carrie laughed out loud, and there was an awkward silence.
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Do you have to be so awkward about everything?
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For one awkward moment I thought I had said something terribly wrong.
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Getting in and out of the water is awkward when you're wearing flippers.
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He's at an age when kids start asking awkward questions - like 'Where do babies come from?'
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I'm sorry, have I called at an awkward time?
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I didn't know anyone at the party, and I felt really awkward at first.
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It was really awkward , because she and Rachel don't get along.
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Seals are awkward on land, but graceful in the water.
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She felt awkward in her high-heeled shoes.
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the awkward wording of the letter
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The camera is awkward to use.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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If Jack had been at all concerned that his impulsive gesture would result in an awkward silence he need not have worried.
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She may appear stiff and perhaps awkward .
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The Department can be very awkward at times.
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This, with his stupid loyalty and his awkward maleness, she found touching.
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Whilst the others joked, drank and flirted, they would sit in awkward seriousness.