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Impolitic appeared 400 years ago as an antonym of "politic," a word that basically means "shrewd," "sagacious," or "tactful." "Politic" came to us via Middle French from Latin politicus. The Latin word, in turn, came from a Greek word based on politēs, meaning "citizen." "Impolitic" has often been used to refer to action or policy on the part of public figures that is politically unwise-from British statesman Edmund Burke's judicious "the most ... impolitick of all things, unequal taxation" (1797) to People journalist James Kunen's ironic "The author of these impolitic remarks has risen to the very pinnacle of politics" (1988).
Examples of impolitic in a Sentence
S.e. Cupp, New York Daily News, 16 July 2024
Though Baron’s account contains no collegial bombshells, it is filled with small, impolitic, and probably unnecessary detonations of this kind, apparently included for the fullness of the record.
—Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2023
His downfall came not with any of his policies, nor with his impolitic decision to attack America’s favorite pop music, but with an insensitive joke about a coal advisory panel that mortified the president.
—Liza Featherstone, The New Republic, 16 June 2023
Even in the brusque world of old-school record executives, Mr. Stein could be startlingly impolitic.
—Ben Sisario, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for impolitic
Cite this Entry
“Impolitic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impolitic. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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