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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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
But the songwriter Tony Hatch has said he was inspired by Times Square—a solecism forgivable from a Brit.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2017
Solecism slipped into solipsism into full-blown narcissistic projection.
—Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 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
But the songwriter Tony Hatch has said he was inspired by Times Square—a solecism forgivable from a Brit.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2017
Solecism slipped into solipsism into full-blown narcissistic projection.
—Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for solecism
Noun
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Even with good intentions, these salon blunders are better avoided, according to experts.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
19 June 2025
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Other big moments in Trump’s presidency include the leak of U.S. military attack plans to Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, what was widely considered to be the first major blunder of his second term.—
Sara Dorn,
Forbes.com,
16 June 2025
Noun
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My family has a history of a lot of the same mistakes, especially among the men.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
27 June 2025
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Jumping onto Andrew Cuomo’s leaky ship was a devastating mistake for the pro-Israel movement.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
27 June 2025
Noun
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The longtime lawman has been accused of personal indiscretions such as receiving a nude photo of a co-worker, and professional missteps including his deputies’ aggressive actions in pursuing shoplifters at a Target and killing their driver.—
Cristóbal Reyes,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 June 2025
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Chef Snowden’s faith creates tension, causing his place on the boat to come into question, but Stillie’s possible indiscretion with a charter guest causes the ultimate dilemma on board.—
Dana Rose Falcone,
People.com,
22 Apr. 2025
Noun
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With very little margin for error, any misstep could lead to a steep correction.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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Making on-time payments, keeping your debt-to-income ratio low and checking your credit report for errors can all help boost your credit score and lower your rates.—
Liz Knueven,
CNBC,
30 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Solecism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/solecism. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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