faux pas

faux pas

noun \ˈfō-ˌpä, fō-ˈ\

plural faux pas\-ˌpä(z), -ˈpä(z)\

Definition of FAUX PAS

: blunder; especially : a social blunder

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

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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