as in rudeness
the quality or state of lacking refinement or good taste
the indelicacy of their dinner conversation made the other guests wince in embarrassment
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of indelicacy
The Trump era is one of indelicacy, profanity, and real—not imagined—misogyny, and its flacks deserve a language that matches up.
—
Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, 5 June 2018
Trump added, seemingly referring to the indelicacy of directly attacking a war hero who is fighting brain cancer.
—Callum Borchers, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2018
These are only some of the indelicacies that have issued forth from Trump’s mouth:
But the current era of political obscenity also must be put in historical context.
—Jeet Heer, New Republic, 8 June 2017
Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, 5 June 2018
Trump added, seemingly referring to the indelicacy of directly attacking a war hero who is fighting brain cancer.
—Callum Borchers, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2018
These are only some of the indelicacies that have issued forth from Trump’s mouth:
But the current era of political obscenity also must be put in historical context.
—Jeet Heer, New Republic, 8 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for indelicacy
Noun
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But yes, Miss Manners agrees that his rudeness justifies your ignoring his comment.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
10 Oct. 2025
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But Takaichi has taken the strongest stances, decrying the rudeness of foreign tourists and accusing them of abusing the famous deer in Nara.—
Arata Yamamoto,
NBC news,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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He is charged with open and lewd grossness.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
24 Oct. 2025
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In fact, plenty of other things in your home surpass the toilet in terms of grossness.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Miami led 20-17 with one minute left at SMU when an unnecessary roughness flag — one of 12 penalties on the day — allowed the Mustangs to pick up a fourth-and-9 en route to a game-tying field goal.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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However, officials said there was no foul for targeting, but Downs was called for unnecessary roughness.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
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There is plenty of coarseness in American arenas totally unrelated to MAGA or Trumpism, of course.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
11 Oct. 2025
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An alkaline compound, baking soda is a non-toxic cleaner with a coarseness that works wonders for scrubbing grime, removing difficult stains, and deodorizing stinky odors.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The artist’s way, of course, is sincere, even if in the case of Dracula, sincerity begets just under three hours of unsparing cultural commentary and full goose bozo vulgarity.—
Andy Crump,
Time,
31 Oct. 2025
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Songs marked explicit mean their lyrics include swear words or other vulgarities.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There’s some rudeness, aggressive conversations, and crudeness, but nothing too over the top.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
4 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Indelicacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/indelicacy. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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