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
-
Buffalo, known for end-of-half blunders in past years, scored a field goal as the first half expired after moving the ball 48 yards in three plays (including a spike).—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
-
As competition heated up with Walmart, Target made what may be viewed by some in hindsight a profound blunder, another case of brand amnesia.—
Greg Petro,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Having the confidence to make tough decisions, to trust your team, to learn from your mistakes, and to keep moving forward.—
WWD Staff,
Footwear News,
8 Sep. 2025
-
That, in my opinion, is a mistake.—
Arthur Azizov,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Both their indiscretions seem to be a thing of the past, if King Charles’s actions are to be believed.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
31 Aug. 2025
-
Many of Combs' former colleagues have spoken out about his personal and professional indiscretions since his arrest.—
Haadiza Ogwude,
The Enquirer,
28 July 2025
Noun
-
An aircraft flying without GPS can accumulate miles of error in just hours.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Sep. 2025
-
FanDuel acknowledged the error in the way the game score was displayed and pinned it on a third-party provider.—
Contessa Brewer,Alex Sherman,
CNBC,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Solecism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/solecism. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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