Etymology
Origin of inelegance
First recorded in 1720–30; ineleg(ant) + -ance
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Once a showcase of American power, the Oval Office has now become a shrine to inelegance.
From Salon ● Jan. 4, 2026
Watching Ron live out this double-consciousness immediately triggered vivid memories of my own management of double consciousness — conducting that tricky dance that leaves no room for inelegance.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 7, 2018
Is it possible that the slogan’s ungrammatical inelegance is part of that rebuke?
From Slate ● May 7, 2018
There is a kind of intentional inelegance, a stubborn awkwardness to Lynch’s work, something akin to outsider art, that keeps it from ever seeming glib,soulless or less than felt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2017
A man writing against time may be driven to dulness, or commonplace, or inelegance of style; but he need never commit any of the faults just noticed.
From Essays in English Literature, 1780-1860 by George Saintsbury
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
