1. Odd; out of order; perverse. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Wrong, or not commonly used; clumsy; sinister; as, the awk end of a rod (the but end). [ Obs. ] Golding. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Clumsy in performance or manners; unhandy; not dexterous; awkward. [ Obs. or Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Awkwardly. [ Obs. ] Fuller. [ 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. -- 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"ward*ly adv. -- Awk"ward*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

Scaring the ladies like a crowkeeper. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To stare with empty-minded fascination; to stare stupidly; to gape; -- usually used with at. [ PJC ]

2. A simpleton; a booby; a gawky. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A simpleton; a gawk or gawky. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Among the common American species are the red-tailed hawk (Buteo borealis); the red-shouldered (Buteo lineatus); the broad-winged (Buteo Pennsylvanicus); the rough-legged (Archibuteo lagopus); the sharp-shinned (Accipiter fuscus). See Fishhawk, Goshawk, Marsh hawk, under Marsh, Night hawk, under Night. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bee hawk (Zool.), the honey buzzard. --
Eagle hawk. See under Eagle. --
Hawk eagle (Zool.), an Asiatic bird of the genus Spizaetus, or Limnaetus, intermediate between the hawks and eagles. There are several species. --
Hawk fly (Zool.), a voracious fly of the family Asilidae. See Hornet fly, under Hornet. --
Hawk moth. (Zool.) See Hawk moth, in the Vocabulary. --
Hawk owl. (Zool.) (a) A northern owl (Surnia ulula) of Europe and America. It flies by day, and in some respects resembles the hawks. (b) An owl of India (Ninox scutellatus). --
Hawk's bill (Horology), the pawl for the rack, in the striking mechanism of a clock. [ 1913 Webster ]

A falconer Henry is, when Emma hawks. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To make an attack while on the wing; to soar and strike like a hawk; -- generally with at; as, to hawk at flies. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

A falcon, towering in her pride of place,
Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

His works were hawked in every street. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hawk boy, an attendant on a plasterer to supply him with mortar. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. alert to possible danger. [ wns=2 ]
Syn. -- argus-eyed, open-eyed, unsleeping, vigilant, wary, watchful. [ WordNet 1.5 ]