as in inappropriate
showing poor judgment especially in personal relationships or social situations
made a tactless remark about how the apartment had that "lived-in" look
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Recent Examples of tactless
And his most tactless friend, Justin, the volelike fellow with the baseball-cap addiction, would ask, Whatever happened to that other Laura?
—
Hannah Gold, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
At the end of the day, Cooper's guilty of being tactless.
—Samantha Highfill, EW.com, 24 Jan. 2025
The interviews were jocular, an approach that seemed tactless, given the film’s subject matter.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
That’s one of several reasons so many people battle Seasonal Affective Disorder—often shortened to the slightly tactless acronym SAD—in the winter, a recurrent form of depression that comes on during the colder, darker months.
—Kyle MacNeill, Vogue, 15 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for tactless
Hannah Gold, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
At the end of the day, Cooper's guilty of being tactless.
—Samantha Highfill, EW.com, 24 Jan. 2025
The interviews were jocular, an approach that seemed tactless, given the film’s subject matter.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
That’s one of several reasons so many people battle Seasonal Affective Disorder—often shortened to the slightly tactless acronym SAD—in the winter, a recurrent form of depression that comes on during the colder, darker months.
—Kyle MacNeill, Vogue, 15 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for tactless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tactless
Adjective
-
There are significant worries that AI can readily go off the rails or otherwise dispense unsuitable or even egregiously inappropriate mental health advice.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
In April 2025, a tipster submitted an online report alleging an inappropriate relationship between Gilkey-Meisegeier and the student.—
Alec Johnson,
jsonline.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Clutch effort is Herculean, and shifting is indelicate but immensely satisfying.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
19 Dec. 2025
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His view toward law could be summarized in his indelicate three-word exhortation to his fellow prisoners at Nuremberg to show no remorse for crime and no respect for law.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Prevent damage by avoiding sodium ice melt, careless plowing, and watering dormant grass.—
David Beaulieu,
The Spruce,
28 Jan. 2026
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Among the violations for which troopers most frequently issued citations in 2025 were careless driving, operating a motorcycle without a license endorsement, and speeding 10 mph to 29 mph over the limit.—
Bruce Finley,
Denver Post,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Typically, the inspector general investigates schemes defrauding Medicare, improper payments -- such as to insurance companies to cover Medicaid members who had died -- and whether states are doing adequate oversight of providers in their borders.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
6 Jan. 2026
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Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg is also looking into the issue, initially identifying nearly 1,000 potentially improper PPP loans involving city employees.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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These injudicious, blunt-force tariffs do get undone almost as quickly as they are slapped on, thank heavens.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
25 Jan. 2026
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So maybe use the feelings aroused by your sister-in-law’s thoughtless, certainly injudicious, possibly naughty remark as an opportunity to rise above.—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
22 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Her homebase, Studio Siwa, is perched on an indiscreet corner in Burbank, California.—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
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Residents complained to the British press about the associated inconvenience, recounting road closures (leading to, gasp, wet crops), bad American driving, and an indiscreet Secret Service presence.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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What happens, though, when those excesses transcend the merely stupid, the merely unjust, to become existential?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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People who approve of ICE’s actions aren’t necessarily stupid or evil.—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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If a cost is found imprudent, it is rejected.—
Rory M. Christian,
New York Daily News,
24 Jan. 2026
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That’s imprudent, because the Arctic’s climate is changing more rapidly than anywhere on Earth.—
Paul Bierman,
Washington Post,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tactless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tactless. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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