as in mistake
a socially improper or unsuitable act or remark
according to an oft-told story, the queen set a guest at ease about a faux pas by politely imitating it
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Recent Examples of faux pas
Yet at a large function, announcing your departure could actually be more of a faux pas.
—
Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 17 Mar. 2026
Last year’s Challengers omission was a faux pas, but Daniel Lopatin’s snub for Marty Supreme should be a debated at The Hague.
—Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 13 Mar. 2026
Think throwback energy without the fashion faux pas.
—Amanda Le, InStyle, 4 Mar. 2026
Seeing the response to Benedict’s faux pas, asking Sophie to be his mistress.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for faux pas
Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 17 Mar. 2026
Last year’s Challengers omission was a faux pas, but Daniel Lopatin’s snub for Marty Supreme should be a debated at The Hague.
—Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 13 Mar. 2026
Think throwback energy without the fashion faux pas.
—Amanda Le, InStyle, 4 Mar. 2026
Seeing the response to Benedict’s faux pas, asking Sophie to be his mistress.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for faux pas
Recent Examples of Synonyms for faux pas
Noun
-
And it's allowed for a lot of mistakes.—
Alex Crippen,
CNBC,
11 Apr. 2026
-
In some cases, that décor mistake can inadvertently make a space feel cluttered.—
Wendy Rose Gould,
Martha Stewart,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Tunsil plummeted out of the top ten, falling all the way to the 13th pick, where the Miami Dolphins were the beneficiaries of his blunder.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2026
-
That such a blunder might be shrugged off and even celebrated, rather than shamefully shunted away, struck Schuch as a very American notion.—
Lauren Collins,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Yet technology experts warn that outsourcing key decisions to AI exposes consumers to risks, potentially leading to communications errors and costing people money, while also potentially handing hackers the keys to their data.—
Megan Cerullo,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Nurses at the hospital continue to report staffing issues and high turnover rates while saying medication errors and delays in patient care are continuing to occur.—
Livi Stanford,
Hartford Courant,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Faux pas.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faux%20pas. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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