as in uncomfortable
lacking social grace and assurance
his loud talking at the opera marked him as gauche and uncultured
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 gauche
For a scene at the iconically gauche-glam nightclub and restaurant Tatiana — where the surf and turf will run you $99 — only five crew members went inside.
—
Daniel D'addario, Variety, 4 Oct. 2024
The reason is very simple—the Noto palazzo was very gauche and fit for the party later in the season, to be thrown by Hollander’s character.
—Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Dec. 2022
That would be too gauche, too legislative for the court.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 19 May 2022
Dear Looking: Greeting your host with your Gladware out and at the ready is definitely gauche.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 28 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for gauche
Daniel D'addario, Variety, 4 Oct. 2024
The reason is very simple—the Noto palazzo was very gauche and fit for the party later in the season, to be thrown by Hollander’s character.
—Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Dec. 2022
That would be too gauche, too legislative for the court.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 19 May 2022
Dear Looking: Greeting your host with your Gladware out and at the ready is definitely gauche.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 28 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for gauche
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gauche
Adjective
-
In its eerie, uncomfortable depiction of Derry as a toxic version of the all-American town, the series is sometimes more powerful than when Pennywise jumps at the screen.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
23 Oct. 2025
-
There’s certainly an authenticity to this development; who among us hasn’t procrastinated when facing an uncomfortable decision?—
Kristen Baldwin,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
In all of the courses, the pedagogy is an awkward pastiche of traditions, combining Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Slavic paganism, Siberian shamanism, and Asian spiritual practices, spiked with elements of Jungian and American pop psychology.—
Julia Ioffe,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Pignato shared a scene from a recent consult with a rival company that wanted advice on how to bring AI into its engineering workflow, and an awkward generational mismatch.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Even the basic details of the situation can sound like the clumsy plot of some apocalyptic thriller.—
Simon Shuster,
Time,
23 Oct. 2025
-
An exceptionally clumsy device.—
Mark Phelan,
Freep.com,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Lawler, the best known of the young actors thanks to her breakout work in Station Eleven, brings welcome awkward humor, while Stack, with the series’ most complex character, conveys an uneasy grasp on sanity that the rest of the show isn’t really prepared to deal with.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
-
BofA also points to a record 54% of investors who now believe that AI stocks are in a bubble, according to its most recent Global Fund Manager Survey—another reason for heightened vigilance around the market’s uneasy exuberance.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Philly got embarrassed in loss at Giants last Thursday and use that as springboard here.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Buford was skeptical, dismissive, and maybe even a little embarrassed.—
David Hill,
Rolling Stone,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gauche.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gauche. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share