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impropriety

noun

ˌim-p(r)ə-ˈprī-ə-tē How to pronounce impropriety (audio)
Definition of improprietynext
1
as in unfitness
the quality or state of not being socially proper the impropriety of the song that the campers sang for the visitors was embarrassing

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mistake
a socially improper or unsuitable act or remark such improprieties as asking people how much money they make

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in wrongness
the quality or state of being unsuitable or unfitting I see no impropriety in referring to certain anatomical parts by their standard names

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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 impropriety As reported exclusively at Fox News Digital, the Justice Department has launched a grand jury investigation into Singham for alleged money laundering and other financial improprieties. — Asra Q. Nomani , Solly Boussidan, FOXNews.com, 14 July 2026 Hegseth denied any impropriety but the furor prompted congressional scrutiny of how and why the military was pursuing the campaign. — Marie-Rose Sheinerman, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026 During Monday’s meeting trustees forcefully pushed back on the suggestion that there were governance improprieties. — Garrett Shanley, Miami Herald, 24 June 2026 Three departures and allegations of impropriety against four leaders of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system have eroded trust and raised questions about the system’s leadership going forward. — Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 12 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for impropriety
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impropriety
  1. unfitness
  2. mistake
  3. wrongness
  4. inappropriateness
  5. blunder
  6. incorrectness
  7. disrespect
  8. indiscretion
Noun
  • Not just shame but gross unfitness for serving in a role at a state university.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Musk attempted to color Altman as a uniquely unsuitable supervisor of this technology, but this invariably invited further scrutiny into his own abject unfitness for the role.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 20 May 2026
Definition of unfitness
Noun
  • Well, his speed off the edge can cause a quarterback to make mistakes — the kind of game-changing mistakes from which the Chiefs did not benefit a year ago.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 7 Sep. 2026
  • In a work so dense with references, mistakes will sprout like crabgrass; write a big book on André Le Nôtre’s formal gardens and the earthworm experts will gather to deride your confusion.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of mistake
Noun
  • But for less intimate relationships, the perception of wrongness was the key predictor of negative feelings and avoidance.
    — Andras Molnar, The Conversation, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Hidden, almost, in the center of the exhibition are a few of Mendieta’s early paintings from the late 1960s and early 1970s, which have a jarring feeling of wrongness about them.
    — Eliza Goodpasture, ARTnews.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of wrongness
Noun
  • This is expressed just as her 14-year-old appears to see that her earlier prediction about Carmella’s likelihood of inappropriateness had come true.
    — Peter Larsen, Oc Register, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of inappropriateness
Noun
  • There were mighty blunders off the field too under Jarmond, including an email that went out to donors that came with an attachment revealing personal information and spending tallies of the department’s biggest donors.
    — Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Common Mistakes When Cleaning Earbuds Take special care to avoid damaging your earbuds by avoiding these common blunders.
    — Emily Hayes, Martha Stewart, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of blunder
Noun
  • Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s ongoing satirical series at first appalled many viewers with its resolute political incorrectness and penchant for four-letter words from the mouths of babes, and that was nowhere more evident than in Cartman himself.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026
  • That, however, is nothing now compared to the far larger incorrectness of the rulers of a significant number of the most powerful nations on earth.
    — John Hopewell, Variety, 19 Mar. 2026
Definition of incorrectness
Noun
  • The public weighted plain disrespect – how people are treated, apart from the economics – significantly more heavily than the philosophers did.
    — ESMT Berlin, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • In the millions upon millions of words written and said about this World Cup, who has shown disrespect to players from Haiti, or any other smaller nation?
    — Nick Miller, New York Times, 27 July 2026
Definition of disrespect
Noun
  • This tender novel of intimacy and its risks begins in Boston in 1969, as Eve, a dancer, commences an affair with a colleague—an indiscretion that spurs her husband, a journalist named Gabe, to cheat, too.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Remind him of his indiscretions and ask him to give you the respect to stay away for a while.
    — Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of indiscretion

Browse Nearby Words

improprieties
impropriety
improv
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Cite this Entry

“Impropriety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impropriety. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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