Meaning & use
oafish
Last updated
Clumsy, stupid, or uncultured in manner or behavior.
See it in a sentence
His oafish attempt at dancing knocked over two chairs.
She was tired of his oafish jokes at the dinner table.
A note on using this word
The word derives from 'oaf,' originally meaning a changeling or foolish child left by fairies, a folklore idea that has faded from the modern sense.
Words with a similar meaning
clumsyboorish
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
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