1
as in blunder
a socially improper or unsuitable act or remark
committed a huge gaffe when she started drinking from the finger bowl
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
so-called debates, which seemed to be mainly about seeing which candidate made the most gaffes
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gaffe
Last Saturday alone, there were multiple gaffes.
—
Troy Renck, Denver Post, 16 Mar. 2026
Actors from Reiner’s movies gathered onstage — although the camera didn’t catch their faces, a sadly clumsy gaffe.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2026
Miss Manners is not aware of this being a specifically American gaffe.
—Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 14 Mar. 2026
Adding to the pressure, DeRosa’s gaffe has taken on a life of its own.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gaffe
Troy Renck, Denver Post, 16 Mar. 2026
Actors from Reiner’s movies gathered onstage — although the camera didn’t catch their faces, a sadly clumsy gaffe.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2026
Miss Manners is not aware of this being a specifically American gaffe.
—Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 14 Mar. 2026
Adding to the pressure, DeRosa’s gaffe has taken on a life of its own.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gaffe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gaffe
Noun
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Several real estate blunders exacerbated the situation.—
Harvey Levine,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
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Gabriel and Zubimendi played costly blind passes against Bournemouth and Manchester United in January, Rice had his moment of madness away to Spurs in February, and even David Raya had a rare blunder away to Wolves.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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And it's allowed for a lot of mistakes.—
Alex Crippen,
CNBC,
11 Apr. 2026
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In some cases, that décor mistake can inadvertently make a space feel cluttered.—
Wendy Rose Gould,
Martha Stewart,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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According to Becerra, actually, Democrats have done wonders for Californians with only a few minor indiscretions.—
Rafael Perez,
Oc Register,
9 Apr. 2026
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In this case, the arc of the season was primed for Batula to be the victim rising from the ashes of her divorce, only for her recent romantic indiscretions to shatter that fantasy.—
Shamira Ibrahim,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gaffe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gaffe. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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