faux pas

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noun \ˈfō-ˌpä, fō-ˈ\

: an embarrassing social mistake

plural faux pas \-ˌpä(z), -ˈpä(z)\

Full Definition of FAUX PAS

:  blunder; especially :  a social blunder

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Examples of FAUX PAS

1. Arriving too early would be a serious faux pas.
2. <according to an oft-told story, the queen set a guest at ease about a faux pas by politely imitating it>

Origin of FAUX PAS

French, literally, false step

First Known Use: 1676

Related to FAUX PAS

Synonyms

familiarity, impropriety, gaff, gaffe, indiscretion, solecism

Antonyms

amenity, attention, civility, courtesy, formality, gesture, pleasantry

Related Words

blunder, error, flub, fumble, goof, lapse, miscue, misstep, mistake, oversight, slip, slipup, stumble; discourtesy, incivility, offense (or offence); boner, howler; foul-up, muff; misapprehension, miscalculation, misconception, misjudgment, misstatement, misunderstanding

Near Antonyms

form, manners, mores, proprieties

Rhymes with FAUX PAS

aba, Accra, aha, Allah, amah, Armagh, Artois, ayah, Bekaa, bourgeois, brava, chamois, Chechnya, Chita, chutzpah, compas, Degas, dolma, Dubois, Dunois, éclat, fa la, fellah, Fermat, feta, foie gras, gaga, galah, Galois, goombah, grandma, grandpa, ha-ha, halvah, Hama, hoo-ha, hoopla, Hsia, hurrah, huzzah, Konya, Makah, Marat, markka, Maurois, mirepoix, mudra, Oita, oompah, opah, Oujda, quinoa, paisa, pasha, patois, pooh-bah, prutah, pya, Sanaa, sangfroid, selah, Seurat, Shema, Shoah, sol-fa, supra, Syrah, ta-ta, tola, Tonghua, Ufa, Utah, Vaudois, viva, voilà, wah-wah, whoopla