as in offence
a socially improper or unsuitable act or remark
the solecism of asking one's hosts how much something in their house cost them
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of solecism
The result is global English but one without the imprecision and solecism implied by that label.
—
Colin Marshall, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2022
And a single word couldn’t be a dead giveaway either, no matter how much people would like to portray the use of pled rather than pleaded as an obvious Trumpian solecism, especially when Dowd himself has been documented using pled at least once.
—Ben Zimmer, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2017
Colin Marshall, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2022
And a single word couldn’t be a dead giveaway either, no matter how much people would like to portray the use of pled rather than pleaded as an obvious Trumpian solecism, especially when Dowd himself has been documented using pled at least once.
—Ben Zimmer, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for solecism
Noun
-
Despite that big blunder, McMillan bounced back with his first career touchdown on the next series.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Oct. 2025
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Against Brent Venables’ otherwise elite defense, Arch Manning had a nicely tidy day, completing 21 of 27 passes with no major blunders and 200 total yards.—
Sam Settleman,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The 49ers also made a big mistake in fielding just 10 players on the very play on which Warner was injured.—
Matt Barrows,
New York Times,
14 Oct. 2025
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Conservative activists have spent the past forty-six years arguing that this was a terrible mistake.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Once Jem enters Ray’s remote, Spartan cabin in the woods, a whirlwind of indiscretions, family legacies, abusive authority figures, and even past dealings with the IRA get revisited through conversations told mostly near the fireplace.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
2 Oct. 2025
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Personal scandals are harder to survive For most people, personal indiscretions – such as having an extramarital affair or abusing drugs – are a private matter.—
Michael Nalick,
The Conversation,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The cause of the labeling error is reportedly under investigation.—
Meghan Overdeep,
Southern Living,
9 Oct. 2025
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His error on Andrés Giménez’s one-out grounder in the seventh inning with a runner on first base was a major blow.—
The Athletic MLB Staff,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Solecism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/solecism. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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