indelicate

American  

[in-del-i-kit] / ɪnˈdɛl ɪ kɪt /

adjective

1. offensive to a sense of generally accepted propriety, modesty, or decency; improper, unrefined, or coarse.

   indelicate language.

   Synonyms:

   rude, gauche, untactful, indecorous

2. not delicate; lacking delicacy; rough.

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indelicate British  

/ ɪnˈdɛlɪkɪt /

adjective

1. coarse, crude, or rough

2. offensive, embarrassing, or tasteless

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Other Word Forms

• indelicacy
  noun
• indelicately
  adverb
• indelicateness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of indelicate

First recorded in 1735–45; in- ³ + delicate

Explanation

Indelicate things are offensive or rude. If you tell an indelicate joke to your sweet, old-fashioned great-grandmother, it'll make her blush. Many people would consider the question, "How much money do you make?" to be an indelicate one — it's tactless to ask it. Dirty jokes are indelicate because they're in bad taste, likely to offend someone. The adjective indelicate uses the "not" prefix in- along with delicate, which here means "tactful and considerate."

Example Sentences

Having perused well the chronicle of the week, the Vigilant Patriot views with alarm: Indelicate insinuations concerning the personal ability and public integrity of the Secretary of War.

From Time Magazine Archive

They do a lot of other things, Indelicate to tell 'Til you begin to speculate, 'God!

From Time Magazine Archive

Indelicate, in-del′i-kāt, adj. offensive to good manners or purity of mind: coarse.--n.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

Indelicate witticisms and levity, until then sporadic in Jewish literature, were by him introduced as a regular feature.

From Jewish Literature and Other Essays by Karpeles, Gustav

Indelicate friend that he was, Ernest pounced upon the note and took possession of it.

From The Deputy of Arcis by Wormeley, Katharine Prescott