1
as in blunder
a socially improper or unsuitable act or remark
committed a huge gaffe when she started drinking from the finger bowl
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
so-called debates, which seemed to be mainly about seeing which candidate made the most gaffes
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gaffe
Athletic director Scott Barnes has made a series of gaffes in Corvallis.
—
Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2026
Rather than be ostracized for a blocking gaffe in the 2023 team’s overtime loss in the Super Bowl, Burford worked toward becoming a swing tackle, then replaced Bartch at left guard.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2026
It was widely regarded as a once-in-a-generation gaffe.
—Joshua Hunt, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
Her predecessor, Geoff Morrell, was unpopular internally and connected to several gaffes that didn’t help Chapek’s rocky time at the helm.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gaffe
Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2026
Rather than be ostracized for a blocking gaffe in the 2023 team’s overtime loss in the Super Bowl, Burford worked toward becoming a swing tackle, then replaced Bartch at left guard.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2026
It was widely regarded as a once-in-a-generation gaffe.
—Joshua Hunt, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
Her predecessor, Geoff Morrell, was unpopular internally and connected to several gaffes that didn’t help Chapek’s rocky time at the helm.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gaffe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gaffe
Noun
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Milwaukee challenged the play, and the replay clearly showed Bauers stepped on first, causing another blunder for Bucknor.—
Jason Ounpraseuth,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
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In the second inning, well before his ninth-inning blunder, Burger fumbled an infield pop-up from García with two outs.—
Shawn McFarland,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
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However, this approach is a mistake.—
Kat Tretina,
Sacbee.com,
28 Mar. 2026
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But fans, players and teams have grown less patient with mistakes that technology can easily fix.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Kody Clemens scored on an error by five-time Gold Glove-winning catcher Salvador Perez in the second, and Byron Buxton added a sacrifice fly off John Schreiber in the eighth, before the Twins teed off against Royals reliever Steven Cruz in the ninth.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
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Angels center fielder Mike Trout dropped a Kelly fly ball for a two-base error.—
Jeff Vorva,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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For the sake of propriety — Paley was one of the 20th century’s most powerful media paschas — his indiscretions were kept quiet.—
Marc Weingarten,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2026
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And right now, Taylor cannot stop herself from initiating phone sex with Dakota even while sobbing over his indiscretions at Vanderpump Villa.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Vulture,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gaffe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gaffe. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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