Meanings
comparative more gracelessly · superlative most gracelessly
- In a graceless manner
Barabbas jumped down the eroded slope towards the water and slipped the last few feet gracelessly on his arse.
1965, Wole Soyinka, The Interpreters, New York: Africana Publishing, published 1972, Part One, Chapter 8, p. 1162 more examples
The French, in his whole language, hath not one word that hath his accent in the last syllable, saving two, called antepenultima; and little more, hath the Spanish, and therefore very gracelessly may they use dactiles.
1595, Philip Sidney, An Apologie for PoetrieAs he finished he heard the footsteps of the woman who daily came to work for him. They were slow, dragging footsteps implying the bulk they gracelessly shifted.
1968, William Trevor, “The General's Day”, in Collected Stories, Penguin, published 1992, page 30
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbwithout grace; rigidly
adverbin a graceless manner
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishgracelessly
- Englishgracelessly
From Middle English gracelessly; equivalent to graceless + -ly.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
gracelessly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gracelessly
“gracelessly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gracelessly. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gracelessly,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gracelessly.
Source: gracelessly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.