as in offence
a socially improper or unsuitable act or remark
the solecism of asking one's hosts how much something in their house cost them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of solecism
The result is global English but one without the imprecision and solecism implied by that label.
—
Colin Marshall, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2022
And a single word couldn’t be a dead giveaway either, no matter how much people would like to portray the use of pled rather than pleaded as an obvious Trumpian solecism, especially when Dowd himself has been documented using pled at least once.
—Ben Zimmer, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2017
But the songwriter Tony Hatch has said he was inspired by Times Square—a solecism forgivable from a Brit.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2017
Solecism slipped into solipsism into full-blown narcissistic projection.
—Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2017
Colin Marshall, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2022
And a single word couldn’t be a dead giveaway either, no matter how much people would like to portray the use of pled rather than pleaded as an obvious Trumpian solecism, especially when Dowd himself has been documented using pled at least once.
—Ben Zimmer, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2017
But the songwriter Tony Hatch has said he was inspired by Times Square—a solecism forgivable from a Brit.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2017
Solecism slipped into solipsism into full-blown narcissistic projection.
—Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for solecism
Noun
-
Kiké Hernández and Teoscar Hernández made run-scoring defensive blunders in the outfield.—
Jack Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
28 June 2025
-
Whereas the Pacers had their lowest giveaway total of the championship round in Game 6, OKC had its highest turnover game of the playoffs, with 23 blunders leading to 32 Indiana points.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
20 June 2025
Noun
-
Read on for some of the most common nutrition mistakes sports dietitians see that wreak havoc on people’s workouts—plus what to do instead.—
Jenny McCoy,
SELF,
9 July 2025
-
Such complacency could be a mistake, as some market watchers have cautioned.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
9 July 2025
Noun
-
His indiscretion with Kim had everything to do with him and nothing to do with Christopher.—
Andy Swift,
TVLine,
3 Apr. 2025
-
The longtime lawman has been accused of personal indiscretions such as receiving a nude photo of a co-worker, and professional missteps including his deputies’ aggressive actions in pursuing shoplifters at a Target and killing their driver.—
Cristóbal Reyes,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 June 2025
Noun
-
High-profile cases have shown that spreadsheet errors can cost companies millions.—
Aleksandra Bal,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025
-
Unforced error after unforced error plagued the team.—
Emma Moon,
Charlotte Observer,
13 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Solecism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/solecism. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share