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
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Base running blunder The Tigers had a great chance to put together a big inning in the second, after Trey Sweeney hit a sacrifice fly, knocking in a run.—
Ryan Ford,
Freep.com,
6 Oct. 2025
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That blunder came one series after Slayton had a brutal drop on a 50-yard bomb from Dart that would have put the ball inside the Saints’ 20-yard line.—
Dan Duggan,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Steelers, Saints, Cardinals Sam Darnold was nearly perfect (28-of-34 passing for 341 yards and four touchdowns), but his one mistake was a costly interception late that set up the Bucs’ winning field goal.—
Chad Graff,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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Mahomes methodically pushed the offense to Jacksonville’s goal line before making what was a game-changing mistake.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
7 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 12 Oct. 2025.
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