distasteful

adjective

dis·​taste·​ful (ˌ)dis-ˈtāst-fəl How to pronounce distasteful (audio)
1
a
: objectionable because offensive to one's personal taste : unpleasant, disagreeable
found the job distasteful
a shady, distasteful character
b
: objectionable because in poor taste, inappropriate, or unethical
a harmless stroking … but it seems oddly distasteful in retrospectRichard Sandza et al.
2
: unpleasant to the taste
distasteful unripe fruit
distastefully adverb
distastefulness noun

Examples of distasteful in a Sentence

The work was distasteful, but it was the best I could find at the time. It was a distasteful subject to him.
Recent Examples on the Web Crystal’s jokes about the stars could still be remarkably misguided: His use of blackface to imitate Sammy Davis Jr. in 2012 was particularly distasteful. Fran Hoepfner, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2024 The post was also shared on Reddit, where members of the Peoria subreddit commented on how the ad was distasteful. Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 28 Feb. 2024 To explain those overgrown toddlers, physicists were forced to consider two distasteful options. WIRED, 5 Nov. 2023 One of its provisions is for border guards from Russia’s FSB security service to protect the transport corridor across Armenia to Nakhchivan—a distasteful prospect given Russia’s war in Ukraine. Thomas De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 26 Sep. 2023 Lohan took the joke as a distasteful reference to the derogatory nickname that haunted her in the mid-aughts. Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 16 Jan. 2024 Firing Telesco would probably be John’s most distasteful decision. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Dec. 2023 Much like the Tabi boot, this kind of thing feels deliberately distasteful, all while maintaining a frisson of playfulness and provocation. Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 27 Sep. 2023 There was something distasteful, his critics said, about applying economic analysis to a field concerned with life and death. Clay Risen, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'distasteful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1607, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of distasteful was in 1607

Dictionary Entries Near distasteful

Cite this Entry

“Distasteful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/distasteful. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

distasteful

adjective
dis·​taste·​ful dis-ˈtāst-fəl How to pronounce distasteful (audio)
: causing displeasure : unpleasant, disagreeable
distastefully adverb
distastefulness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on distasteful

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!