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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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
But the songwriter Tony Hatch has said he was inspired by Times Square—a solecism forgivable from a Brit.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2017
Solecism slipped into solipsism into full-blown narcissistic projection.
—Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 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
But the songwriter Tony Hatch has said he was inspired by Times Square—a solecism forgivable from a Brit.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2017
Solecism slipped into solipsism into full-blown narcissistic projection.
—Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for solecism
Noun
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After coalescing with ultranationalists to establish the nation's furthest right government in late 2022, the former special forces commando who had already become Israel's longest serving premier largely deflected criticism over the intelligence blunder of October 7, 2023.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2025
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Yet, the Trump White House and leading Republicans in Congress have tried mightily to put a positive spin on the colossal blunder, even as Democrats pounced on it.—
Clarence Page,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
This makes people more forgiving when leaders make mistakes.—
Tendayi Viki,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
-
Piastri, who made a mistake that cost him the win at the Australian GP last week, capitalized on clean air in Shanghai to steadily build his advantage as the race evolved into a strategic battle between one and two-stop strategies.—
Luke Smith,
The Athletic,
23 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The world watched in utter shock as Tiger’s pristine image unraveled amid revelations of marital indiscretions.—
Mike Bianchi,
Orlando Sentinel,
8 Mar. 2025
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The military’s strict code of conduct Hegseth’s indiscretions could impede his ability to lead by example, said the chief executive officer of the nation’s largest group of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.—
Tara Copp,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Baker expressed skepticism about the poll, questioning the reliability due to the small sample size and margin of error.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Mar. 2025
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Unlike previous quantum attempts plagued by instability, Majorana 1 uses a new class of qubits resistant to errors, making scalable quantum computing a reality.—
Sarah Choudhary,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Solecism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/solecism. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
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