as in rudeness
the quality or state of lacking refinement or good taste
the indelicacy of their dinner conversation made the other guests wince in embarrassment
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of indelicacy
The Trump era is one of indelicacy, profanity, and real—not imagined—misogyny, and its flacks deserve a language that matches up.
—
Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, 5 June 2018
Trump added, seemingly referring to the indelicacy of directly attacking a war hero who is fighting brain cancer.
—Callum Borchers, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2018
These are only some of the indelicacies that have issued forth from Trump’s mouth:
But the current era of political obscenity also must be put in historical context.
—Jeet Heer, New Republic, 8 June 2017
Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, 5 June 2018
Trump added, seemingly referring to the indelicacy of directly attacking a war hero who is fighting brain cancer.
—Callum Borchers, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2018
These are only some of the indelicacies that have issued forth from Trump’s mouth:
But the current era of political obscenity also must be put in historical context.
—Jeet Heer, New Republic, 8 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for indelicacy
Noun
-
But research shows that confrontation and rudeness are NOT actually what makes these styles of leadership work.—
London Business School,
Forbes.com,
6 May 2025
-
Responding to rudeness with equal aggression often escalates the situation.—
Cheryl Robinson,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Finally, women need to call this type of vulgarity out instead of being demure!—
Chloe Mayer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 May 2025
-
Fiona Crombie’s production design gives the movie an imposing scale (with a Mar-a-Lago vulgarity in the ostentatious décor of the Marshalls’ quarters), though for a project shot by Darius Khondji and screened in IMAX, the visuals are nothing special.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
15 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Indelicacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/indelicacy. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share