1
as in blunder
a socially improper or unsuitable act or remark
committed a huge gaffe when she started drinking from the finger bowl
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gaffe
Thomas’ baserunning gaffe made the wrong kind of national attention.
—
Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 21 Apr. 2026
Morgan and Tilis want to give Panthers head coach Dave Canales the best roster possible, and the duo wasn’t afraid to dissect their previous gaffes to make sure that happened.
—Mike Kaye
april 20, Charlotte Observer, 20 Apr. 2026
In mounting the show, Schuch and her team committed a gaffe of their own.
—Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Before that, a colossal puckhandling gaffe by Woll got the Kings on the board.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 5 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gaffe
Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 21 Apr. 2026
Morgan and Tilis want to give Panthers head coach Dave Canales the best roster possible, and the duo wasn’t afraid to dissect their previous gaffes to make sure that happened.
—Mike Kaye
april 20, Charlotte Observer, 20 Apr. 2026
In mounting the show, Schuch and her team committed a gaffe of their own.
—Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Before that, a colossal puckhandling gaffe by Woll got the Kings on the board.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 5 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gaffe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gaffe
Noun
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For the game, for the third straight game, the Lakers made bunches of mistakes that became bunches of baskets, this time 17 blunders that became 30 Oklahoma City points.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
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In a recent tactical blunder, the first lady’s farcical rollout of a teacher robot made unusually clear what this administration really thinks of children, teachers and schools.—
Randi Weingarten,
Fortune,
6 May 2026
Noun
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Kreider made no mistake hammering the puck past Hart from the low slot.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
9 May 2026
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That will also be a huge difference from the Orbán regime, when there was no responsibility or consequences of any crime, any political mistake.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
Noun
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The Knights fell behind 3-0 after Canyon’s Mia Saenz hit a two-run home run and added another run on an error.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 2026
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Instead, Adames committed an inexcusable baserunning error by forgetting how many outs there were in the seventh inning, allowing Ohtani to complete seven scoreless innings as the Giants’ three-game winning streak was snapped.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
14 May 2026
Noun
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Coming Up Carbs In a third act mea culpa that feels reminiscent of Andy and Nate’s makeup from the first film, Emily apologizes to Andy for her latest round of workplace indiscretions.—
Savannah Walsh,
Vanity Fair,
1 May 2026
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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
Cite this Entry
“Gaffe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gaffe. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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