用法学习: 1. swamp I. If something swamps a place or object, it fills it with water. to cover a place or thing with a large amount of water: High tides have swamped the coast. The boat was swamped by an enormous wavee. A rogue wave swamped the boat. The Ventura river burst its banks, swamping a mobile home park. II. If you are swamped by things or people, you have more of them than you can deal with. If something swamps a person, system, or place, more of it arrives than can be easily dealt with: Foreign cars have swamped the UK market. I'm swamped with work at the moment. Don't let feelings of depression swamp you. He is swamped with work. The railway station was swamped with thousands of families trying to flee the city. to have too many of something, or give someone too much to do: Huge volumes of fake designer brands have swamped the EU market. be swamped with sth After the severe storms, insurance companies are expecting to be swamped with claims. be swamped by sth Consumers are feeling swamped by high levels of credit card debt. We've all been swamped with work since the policy changes. swamped with calls/emails/letters 应接不暇的, 应付不过来的. III. If clothes swamp you, they are much too big for you. flustered [ˈflʌstərd] 不知如何应对的, 慌里慌张的, 惊慌失措, 不知所措, 紧张不安, 慌张失措
upset and confused. in a state of confusion or agitation. feeling
confused, embarrassed, or nervous, especially because you have too much
to do or too little time to do something. To confuse; befuddle; throw into panic by making overwrought with confusion. She arrived at the interview late, flustered, and hot. Marianne noted his flustered appearance. He gets all flustered and doesn't know what to say. She was so flustered that she forgot her reply. She seemed a little flustered. If I look flustered it's because I'm trying to do so many things at once. fluster noun. a state of agitated confusion. They had been talking about it for days, and when they were getting ready to go out they were all in a fluster. plastered [ˈplæstərd] I. If something is plastered to a surface, it is sticking to the surface. His hair was plastered down to his scalp by the rain. II. If something or someone is plastered with a sticky substance, they are covered with it. My hands, boots and trousers were plastered with/in mud.
III. If a story or photograph is plastered all over the front page 刷屏 of a
newspaper, it is given a lot of space on the page and made very
noticeable. His picture was plastered all over the newspapers on the weekend. IV. If someone gets plastered, they get very drunk. [informal] With gin at 9p a tot, getting plastered is cheap and easy.
V. If someone's broken arm or leg is plastered, it has a hard cover of
plaster of Paris around it to protect the broken bone while it is
mending. She was sitting in a hospital bed, her plastered leg 打石膏的 up in the air. plaster 石膏
I. Plaster is a smooth paste made of sand, lime, and water which goes
hard when it dries. Plaster is used to cover walls and ceilings and is
also used to make sculptures. There were huge cracks in the plaster, and the green shutters were faded. In the Musée d'Orsay in Paris is a sculpture in plaster by Rodin. II. A plaster is a strip of sticky material used for covering small cuts or sores on your body. In AM, usually use Band-Aid. v. I. If you plaster a wall or ceiling, you cover it with a layer of plaster. The ceiling he had just plastered fell in and knocked him off his ladder. II. If you plaster a surface or a place with posters or pictures, you stick a lot of them all over it. They plastered 涂满, 贴满 the city with posters condemning her election. His room is plastered with pictures of Porsches and Ferraris. III. If you plaster yourself in some kind of sticky substance, you cover yourself in it. She plastered herself from head to toe in high-factor sun lotion. in plaster = [US] in cast 打石膏
If you have a leg or arm in plaster, you have a cover made of plaster
of Paris around your leg or arm, in order to protect a broken bone and
allow it to mend. blister [ˈblɪstər] if your skin or a surface blisters, or if something blisters it, a blister forms on it. bluster blʌstər] 虚张声势, 色厉内荏
I. If you say that someone is blustering, you mean that they are speaking
aggressively but without authority, often because they are angry or
offended. to speak in a loud, angry, or offended way, usually with little effect: "You had no right to do it, no right at all," he blustered. 'That's lunacy,' he blustered. He was still blustering, but there was panic in his eyes. ...the bluster of the Conservatives' campaign. I knew that it was all bluster and he wasn't really angry with me. His tough talk amounts to no more than macho bluster. II. If the wind blusters, it blows strongly: A gale was blustering around the house. 2. scam (scam someone out of something) swindle. to trick someone into giving you money or giving you some advantage, in a dishonest and often illegal way: He was scammed out of $500 in what he thought was a legitimate way to get US immigration papers. They totally scammed us. "a guy that scams old pensioners out of their savings". noun. a dishonest plan for making money or getting an advantage, especially one that involves tricking people: Banks often carry information about email scams on their websites. To avoid scams, never sign things in a hurry. an insurance scam. There was an investigation to see who was behind the scam. Many travellers have fallen victim to the scam. There are a lot of online stores, and some of them are scam sites. swindle (swindle someone out of something, cheat someone out of something) If someone swindles a person or an organization, they deceive them in order to get something valuable from them, especially money. A City businessman swindled investors out of millions of pounds. An oil executive swindled £250,000 out of his firm. He was jailed for running a £4.5 million international investment swindle.Swindlers have cheated investors out of £12 million. Barry Casey was swindled out of $40,000, half of his retirement savings, in May 2022 by scammers impersonating Amazon Prime. The 69-year-old Sydney man, who has "three forms of cancer" and was keeping the money to treat potential future flare-ups, said the looming health costs and his decimated bank balance "is like this cloud over my head all the time". Casey also said he had "blind faith" that his bank of 64 years would protect him against fraudulent transactions, but when he contacted them the day after his account was drained, he was told it was his own fault. 4. High care 高级看护 is for people who require more intensive levels of support than what standard levels of care can offer – whether due to disability, a chronic health condition or frailty [ˈfreɪlti] in old age. This covers a wide range of supports, but can include things like help with dressing and having a shower, respiratory care, stoma care, home modifications to help you move freely in your space or behaviour management support. Low care, as the name implies, is the level of care needed by old age people who have trouble in performing some of their daily activities though they can walk around on their own. Low care is for old age people who can manage their daily chores with some help and assistance from a nurse or any other person. People requiring low care are in general mostly independent, but they require some help from others to fulfill their daily requirements of showering, dressing, and eating medication as per the dosage prescribed by their doctors. Thus, a low care facility would typically provide accommodation and meals along with some help and assistance from a nurse in fulfilling daily activities of the inmates. High care facility is for those old age people who are very frail and unable to look after their daily requirements. These are the people who require continual help and assistance for feeding and toilet as well as bathing and dressing. These old age people are totally dependent upon a qualified nurse to have their medication too. The phrase that was in vogue earlier in place of high care was high dependency and the centers that provided high care facilities were earlier referred to as nursing homes. Most of the inmates in a high level care facility are under 24 hour supervision and nursing care. They are unable to move and cannot take care of their daily chores. There are also people with behavioral problems in high care facilities as well as people suffering from dementia. 5. to have sth in mind 有什么建议, 有什么打算, 有什么想法
If you ask someone what they have in mind, you want to know in more
detail about an idea or wish they have. to have a plan or intention: Did you have anything in mind for Helen's present. 'Maybe we could celebrate tonight. '—' What did you have in mind? have something on your mind 担忧, 担心, 麻烦 (something that one needs to talk) I. to be worrying about something. in one's thoughts. if something is on your mind, you keep thinking or worrying about it: Paul has a lot on his mind at the moment. He looked as though he had something on his mind. Sorry I forgot. I've got a lot on my mind (=a lot of problems to worry about) at the moment. II. if something is on your mind, that is what you are thinking about. You are always on my mind. She's the type of person who just says what's on her mind. As
if he had something on his mind. She had the impression that he had
something on his mind and was uncertain whether or not he should speak
of it. Shiona sensed that he knew she had something on her mind. 6. fitting I. suitable or right for a particular situation or occasion. Something that is fitting is right or suitable. A solitary man, it was perhaps fitting 最合适不过的 that he should have died alone. The President's address was a fitting 恰当的 end to a bitter campaign. ...a fittingly eccentric figure. ...the four-storeyed, and fittingly named, High House. Fittingly, she will spend her year off training her voice to sing blues and jazz. a fitting tribute. It is fitting that 非常应景的 we should remember those who died. What was fitting 应该做的, 值得的, 配得上的 for that night, was a big F YOU, to everyone who got paid off of the backs of hard working patrons, like myself, who just came to watch one of the most talented woman perform in our town of Oakland. Unfortunately, I guess no one's perfect. Even more unfortunate, her imperfection, and the imperfection of a lot of other people still got paid. noun. I. an occasion when someone who is having clothes made for them puts on the clothes before they are finished to make certain they will fit: a fitting 试装 for a wedding gown I'm having the final fitting of my wedding dress on Thursday. II. a small part or thing. The company manufactures plastic pipes and fittings. electrical/ plumbing fittings. plumbing fittings. electric light fittings. III. (US furnishings) an object in a house, such as a cooker or a shelf, that is not permanently fixed, and can be either taken away or left when the people who live there move to another house. an object or piece of equipment that is not permanently fixed inside a house that someone might take with them when they move to a new home. Many new homes include extra fixtures and fittings in the purchase price. bathroom/kitchen fittings. fixtures and fittings The house price, including fixtures and fittings, is £200,000. a. Fittings are things such as ovens or heaters, that are fitted inside a building, but can be removed if necessary. b. A fitting is one of the smaller parts on the outside of a piece of equipment or furniture, for example a handle or a tap. ...brass light fittings. ...industrial fittings for kitchen and bathroom. He has made fittings for antique cars.
bumble, falter, stumble, tumble, muddle through, teeter, totter, unsteady/sway on one's feet, blunder, careen, lumber, galumph 跌跌撞撞的, 趔趄, 趔趔趄趄的: bumbling 没用的, 废物的, 无能的 acting in a confused or ineffectual way; incompetent. confused and
showing no skill. If you describe a person or their behaviour as
bumbling, you mean that they behave in a confused, disorganized way,
making mistakes and usually not achieving anything. ...a clumsy, bumbling, inarticulate figure. I've never seen such bumbling incompetence! He's a bumbling fool. Was it privileged amoral [ˌeɪˈmorəl]没有是非观念的, 没有道德观念的 ex-boyfriend Jasper Ames or his pal Kris the Skater Kid? Nope, they're just jerks. Just more false trails for two of Seattle's most bumbling cops, Holder and Detective Sarah Linden. Their sloppiness 作风懒散, 作风不严谨, 办事不严密, from letting Rosie's raging parents Mitch and Stan know they suspected Ahmed -- which led to his brutal beating -- to accidentally leaving out pictures of 泄露出去, 透露出去 Rosie's corpse, places much blood on this duo's hands. leave out If you leave someone or something out of an activity, collection, discussion, or group, you do not include them in it. to not include someone or something: You can leave the butter out of this recipe if you're on a low-fat diet. I've made a list of names - I hope I haven't left anyone out. None of the other children play with her, and I think she feels left out (= feels that no one wants to be her friend). Some would question the wisdom of leaving her out of the team. If you prefer mild flavours reduce or leave out the chilli. Now have we left any country out? US bumble around = BRIT bumble about 瞎胡弄, 瞎胡搞, 搞砸, 不知道自己在做什么的瞎搞
When someone bumbles around or bumbles about, they behave in a
confused, disorganized way, making mistakes and usually not achieving
anything. Most of us are novices on the computer–just bumbling about on them. vocabulary: To bumble is to move or speak in an awkward, fumbling way. You might bumble your way through your first dance performance, tripping over your own two feet. When you bumble, you walk unsteadily 跌跌撞撞的走, 结结巴巴的说 or speak with a stutter. You can also bumble something, or completely mess it up. An inexperienced teacher might bumble her attempts at managing a huge class of middle school students, and you might worry that you'll bumble your first interview as a radio reporter. Bumble was first used in the 1500's, and it's probably an imitative word, or one that sounds like what it means. teeter 跌跌撞撞的 to stand or move in a way that is not steady and makes you seem about to fall. Stephanie went downstairs, teetering on her high heels. teetering on the brink/edge (of something) in a situation in which something bad is very likely to happen. The organization is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. teeter-totter a children's word for a seesaw. Thailand has been under martial law since May, when the army chief staged a coup d'etat, deposing a teetering interim leadership after months of rebellion in Bangkok against populist Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. totter 跌跌撞撞, 趔趔趄趄, 趔趄 (unsteady on one's feet, sway on one's feet 脚步不稳, 走不稳, 走路不稳) I. If someone totters somewhere, they walk there in an unsteady way, for example because they are ill or drunk. He tottered to the fridge, got a drink and slumped at the table. The baby began to crawl, then managed her first tottering steps. II. If something such as a market or government is tottering 市场不平稳, 动荡不安, it is weak and likely to collapse or fail completely. The property market is tottering. ...further criticism of the tottering government. Swaying on one's feet (左右不稳, one rocks 前后不稳): It means she was unsteady and might fall from dizziness, fatigue or other reasons. A boxer who has been hit hard on the chin but didn't fall is usually swaying on his feet. When one sways on his or her feet, it typically means movement from side to side, whereas when one rocks it typically means a movement from front to back. sweep someone off their feet to make someone become suddenly and completely in love with you: The first time he met her, he was completely swept off his feet. be like a bull in a china shop ( as awkward as ~) 跌跌撞撞的, 莽撞的 to often drop or break things because you move awkwardly or roughly. Rob's
like a bull in a china shop - don't let him near those plants. She's
like a bull in a china shop when it comes to dealing with people's
feelings. (= behaves in a way that offends people). blunder verb. I. If you blunder, you make a stupid or careless mistake. No doubt I had blundered again. You're a blundering fool. II. If you blunder into a dangerous or difficult situation, you get involved in it by mistake. People wanted to know how they had blundered 误打误撞的, 误闯, into war, and how to avoid it in future. III. If you blunder somewhere, you move there in a clumsy and careless way. He had blundered 笨拙的, 跌跌撞撞的走 into the table, upsetting the flowers. 其他用词: There are various colloquial terms, as a rule with slightly different
connotations, for various forms and contexts of blunder. For example: Howler (error), in which people, typically schoolchildren or politicians, provide embarrassing examples of misunderstandings. A Howler [ˈhaʊlər] 笑出猪叫的东西, 令人大笑的, 引人发笑的错 is a glaring blunder, typically an amusing one. a blunder n. 蠢话. I. a stupid or clumsy mistake. II. a foolish tactless remark.
v. I. to make stupid or clumsy mistakes. II. to make foolish tactless
remarks. III. (often foll by about, into, etc) to act clumsily; stumble. He blundered into a situation he knew nothing about. IV. (tr) to mismanage; botch. 同义词: blunder, bumble, flounder, lumber, lurch, stumble: These verbs mean to move awkwardly or unsteadily跌跌撞撞的: blundered
about the dark room; flies bumbling against the screen; floundered up
the muddy trail; a wagon lumbering along an unpaved road; twisted her ankle and lurched home; stumbled but regained his balance. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who admits he is "no tech-head ( an expert at or fan of technology; techie. )", has made a blunder 口误, 说错话 by crediting Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull with inventing the internet in Australia. Alistair was as precocious [prɪˈkəuʃəs]
sexually 性早熟的 ( a precocious child is more intelligent or
behaves in a more developed way than you would expect for their age. a
precocious child shows intelligence or skill at a very young age, or
behaves in an adult way – sometimes used to show disapproval in British English. a precocious child who walked and talked early. ) as he was intellectually. To him, they were one and the same 同一个. 同一个人, 同一个东西. 没什么区别 ( the same person or thing (used for emphasis). When two or more people or things are thought to be separate and you say that they are one and the same, you mean that they are in fact one single person or thing. Luckily, Nancy's father and her attorney were one and the same person. I'm willing to work for the party because its interests and my interests are one and the same. ). s*x was just another form of decryption. You think I'm cruel? Perhaps I am. But not in this instance. I wanted to preserve your illusions. We had hoped that you would go home and mourn in the belief that your relationship was perfect. You loved him, I see that. However, I cannot allow you to be unaware of the facts, in case you blunder 跌跌撞撞的, 误入 further into a situation ( I. to make a careless or embarrassing mistake. Government agents had blundered again and arrested the wrong man. II. 误打误撞的. to move or progress in a careless way, making mistakes or creating problems as you go. blunder about/around/into: The book tells the story of how Europe blundered into World War I. ) you simply do not understand. I'm not surprised he used a different name - he was playing a part. The part of a conventional lover. gaffe [ɡaf] A gaffe is a stupid or careless mistake, for example when you say or do something that offends or upsets people. He made an embarrassing gaffe at the convention last weekend. ...social gaffes committed by high-ranking individuals. Mr Abbott made the gaffe口误 yesterday as he addressed his coalition colleagues in the presence of a number of TV news crews at Parliament House. blow the gaffe/gaff 泄密, 说漏嘴 If you blow the gaffe or blow the gaff, you tell someone something that other people wanted you to keep secret. muddle noun. If people or things are in a muddle, they are in a state of confusion or disorder. My thoughts are all in a muddle. We are going to get into a hopeless muddle. ...a general muddle of pencils and boxes. The laws led to confusion, muddle and years of delay. ...domestic muddles and family tensions. verb. If you muddle 搞混 things or people, you get them mixed up, so that you do not know which is which. Already, one or two critics have begun to muddle the two names. The question muddles up three separate issues. He sometimes muddles me up with other patients. I know that I am getting my words muddled up. muddled 糊里糊涂的, 不清醒的, 没头没脑的, 莫名其妙的, 不明所以 If someone is muddled, they are confused about something. I'm
afraid I'm a little muddled. I'm not exactly sure where to begin.
...the muddled thinking of the Government's transport policy in recent
years. not clear or effective The court can be accused of muddled reasoning in many cases. Adverbs: hopelessly, very. This hopelessly muddled thinking was typical of the department at that time. rather: a little, rather, slightly, somewhat. The arguments they presented were somewhat muddled. Nouns: thinking, thought. We take the view that this proposal is the product of muddled thinking and must be revisited. muddle-headed resulting from a lack of clear thought. muddle-headed plans. muddle up I. to put things into a messy state or the wrong order. His business files were muddled up with his personal files.
II. to think that someone or something is another person or thing as a
result of a mistake. If you muddle things or people, you get them mixed
up, so that you do not know which is which. Already, one or two critics have begun to muddle the two names. The
question muddles up three separate issues. He sometimes muddles me up
with other patients. I know that I am getting my words muddled up. get someone/ something muddled: I'm sorry but I get your names muddled. muddle along = muddle on 稀里糊涂的过, 糊里糊涂的过, 迷迷糊糊的过, 难得糊涂, 漫无目的的生活
to continue to live or do something without having a clear idea of what
you want to achieve. If you muddle along, you live or exist without a
proper plan or purpose in your life. I've started to learn how to do things properly, rather than just muddling along. They're content to just muddle along. muddle through 稀里糊涂的做成了, 跌跌撞撞的成功, 做成了
to succeed in doing something despite having no clear plan, method, or
appropriate equipment. cope more or less satisfactorily despite lack of
expertise, planning, or equipment. To succeed (often clumsily) despite
being ill-equipped or inadequately trained. I've only had a few lessons, but I can muddle through the test. "We don't have an ultimate ambition; we just muddle through 走一步算一步". in a muddle 糊涂的 If someone is muddled, they are confused about something. I'm
afraid I'm a little muddled. I'm not exactly sure where to begin.
...the muddled thinking of the Government's transport policy in recent
years. careen [kəˈrin] (falter) I. [mainly US] 摇摇晃晃的冲. 跌跌撞撞的 to move forward quickly and suddenly, going from side to side in an uncontrolled way. To careen somewhere means to rush forward in an uncontrollable way. to go forward quickly while moving from side to side: The car skidded and careened wildly across several lanes of traffic. The driver lost control of his car when the brakes failed, and it went careening down the hill. He stood to one side as they careened past him. The truck sways wildly, careening down narrow mountain roads. The car hit a guardrail and careened across the freeway. II. to be in a situation that changes quickly in an uncontrolled way. careen from/toward: The country has careened from one crisis to another. an economic system careening toward collapse. hobble I. To put a device around the legs of (a horse, for example) so as to hamper but not prevent movement. If you hobble an animal, especially a horse, you tie two of its legs together so that it cannot run away. II. To cause to limp. If you hobble, you walk in an awkward way with small steps, for example because your foot is injured. to walk in an awkward way, usually because the feet or legs are injured: The last time I saw Rachel she was hobbling around with a stick. Some of the runners could only manage to hobble over the finishing line. He got up slowly and hobbled over to the coffee table. The swelling had begun to go down, and he was able, with pain, to hobble. III. To hamper the action or progress of; impede. To hobble something or someone means to make it more difficult for them to be successful or to achieve what they want. to limit something or control the freedom of someone: A long list of amendments have hobbled the new legislation. Poverty not only demeans our society but its cost also hobbles our economy. limp verb. 拖着腿. 跌跌撞撞的走. I. To walk lamely, especially with irregularity, as if favoring one leg. II. To move or proceed haltingly or unsteadily: The project limped along with half its previous funding. adj. I. Lacking or having lost rigidity, as of structure or substance. II. Lacking strength or firmness; weak or spiritless; a limp handshake; limp opposition. tumble (滚翻下去, 翻滚下去, 一个滚一个滚的下去) verb I. if a price or value tumbles 狂跌, it suddenly becomes much lower. If prices or levels of something are tumbling, they are decreasing rapidly. Oil
prices took a tumble yesterday. House prices have tumbled by almost 30
per cent in real terms since mid-1989. Share prices continued to tumble
today on the stock market. ...tumbling inflation. Unemployment tumbled to 5.6% in November. II. tumble or tumble down if a building or other structure tumbles, it falls to the ground. It seemed that the walls had tumbled from the inside.
a. if someone tumbles, they fall to the ground. If someone or something
tumbles somewhere, they fall there with a rolling or bouncing movement.
A small boy tumbled off a third floor fire escape. The dog had tumbled down the cliff. He fell to the ground, and the gun tumbled out of his hand. He injured his ribs in a tumble from his horse. III. if water tumbles somewhere, a lot of it flows there. If water tumbles, it flows quickly over an uneven surface. Waterfalls crash and tumble over rocks. ...the aromatic pines and tumbling streams of the Zonba Plateau. a. used about large amounts of other things that move. Great white clouds tumbled over the mountain peaks above us.
IV. if an organization or system tumbles, it suddenly stops existing.
V. to do gymnastic movements in which you roll your body over on the
floor. VI. If you say that someone tumbles into a situation or place 误闯进, 跌跌撞撞的跌进, you mean that they get into it without being fully in control of themselves or knowing what they are doing. [mainly British] The whole region seemed to be tumbling into crisis. They tumble into bed at eight o'clock, too tired to take their clothes off. tumble noun I. a sudden fall in something such as a price or a value. take a tumble 狂跌, 大跌: The dollar took its biggest tumble in over two years. II. an occasion when someone falls to the ground. III. singular a large amount of long hair that hangs down. her red hair flashing in a tumble of angry waves. lumber noun. Lumber consists of trees and large pieces of wood that have been roughly cut up. It was made of soft lumber, spruce by the look of it. He was going to have to purchase all his lumber at full retail price. verb. If someone or something lumbers from one place to another, they move there very slowly and clumsily. He turned and lumbered back to his chair. The truck lumbered across the parking lot toward the road. He looked straight ahead and overtook a lumbering lorry. lumber with 硬塞给, 强塞给 [British, informal, disapproval] If you are lumbered with someone or something, you have to deal with them or take care of them even though you do not want to and this annoys you. I was lumbered with the job of taking charge of all the money. I hope no-one ever gets lumbered with you. galumph [ɡəˈlʌmpf] 沉重的笨拙的步伐 verb (intransitive) informal to leap or move about clumsily or joyfully. to move in an awkward, heavy way: A huge bearded man galumphed into the bar. This plant-eating dinosaur galumphed across southeastern Oklahoma 110 million years ago. vocabulary: To galumph is to move in a heavy, clumsy, ungainly way. Ballerinas are unlikely to galumph. Lewis Carroll's poem Jabberwocky introduced many colorful words to English, including this one: "He left it dead, and with its head / He went galumphing back." Originally, galumphing had more of a sense of joy to it, but over time, this word has come to mean only heavy, labored moving. An enormous defensive lineman galumphs across the field. Elephants galumph. Someone struggling to carry bags is galumphing. This word refers to movements that are neither quick nor graceful. ungainly 笨重的, 笨拙的(gainly graceful or well-formed; shapely.) adj. If you describe a person, animal, or vehicle as ungainly, you mean that they look awkward or clumsy, often because they are big. awkward and without grace (= moving smoothly and attractively) in movement: Ducks are ungainly on land. The dog, an ungainly mongrel pup, was loping about the road. Paul swam in his ungainly way to the side of the pool. gawky [ˈɡɔːki] 笨笨的 tall and awkward. If you describe someone, especially a young person, as gawky, you mean they are awkward and clumsy. nervously awkward and ungainly. "a gawky teenager". ...a gawky lad with spots. a gawky teenager.
