gauche

[ gohsh ]

/ goʊʃ /

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See synonyms for gauche on Thesaurus.com

adjective

lacking social grace, sensitivity, or acuteness; awkward; crude; tactless: Their exquisite manners always make me feel gauche.

OTHER WORDS FOR gauche

inept, clumsy, maladroit; coarse, gross, uncouth.

See synonyms for gauche on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of gauche

1745–55; <French: awkward, left; Middle French, derivative of gauchir to turn, veer <Germanic

OTHER WORDS FROM gauche

gauchely, adverbgaucheness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH gauche

gauche , gouache

Words nearby gauche

GATT, gat-toothed, Gatun, Gatun Lake, gatvol, gauche, gaucherie, Gaucher's disease, gaucho, gaud, gaudeamus igitur

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gauche in a sentence

While not quite reheating-fish-in-the-microwave egregious, using speakers in an open office is rather gauche.
CES 2022: The weirdest, coolest, and most interesting gadgets|Mike Epstein, Stan Horaczek, and Tony Ware|January 8, 2022|Popular-Science
Ambition was deemed gauche, so rock bands had to spend a decade pretending they didn’t care about their life’s work.
Turnstile, the soaring hardcore band of the moment, has a reminiscent sound that pushes us forward in time|Chris Richards|September 29, 2021|Washington Post
In the academic confines of museums, such talk of marketing and the bottom line qualifies as gauche.
Prada and Schiaparelli Exhibit Opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art|Robin Givhan|May 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
About 16% support the far-right National Front and about 17% the neo-communist Left Front (Front de Gauche).
How to Watch the French Election|David Frum|April 16, 2012|DAILY BEAST

I was wearing a lacy black nightgown and Rive Gauche by St. Laurent when I let him in.
The Summer of the Entenmann's Man|Gael Greene|July 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST
To someone who grew up in a diverse big city environment, the question sounds impossibly gauche if not offensive.
How Glenn Beck Saves Lives|Reihan Salam|June 19, 2009|DAILY BEAST
He came forward with a gauche gallantry, and offered his arm to Horatia.
Sarah's School Friend|May Baldwin
I do not know of a more insidious temptation to buy what you do not need than loitering along the quais of the Rive Gauche.
Paris Vistas|Helen Davenport Gibbons
The Main-gauche is also of the dagger order, but has a broad knuckle-guard and long straight quillons.
Armour & Weapons|Charles John Ffoulkes
Le membre infrieur gauche, d'abord engourdi sa partie suprieure, prsenta aussi de la raideur.
Journal in France in 1845 and 1848 with Letters from Italy in 1847|T. W. (Thomas William) Allies
My eyes glanced around to see the effect produced on my friends by my gauche cousin.
Graham's Magazine Vol XXXII No. 6 June 1848|Various

British Dictionary definitions for gauche

gauche

/ (ɡəʊʃ) /

adjective

lacking ease of manner; tactless

Derived forms of gauche

gauchely, adverbgaucheness, noun

Word Origin for gauche

C18: French: awkward, left, from Old French gauchir to swerve, ultimately of Germanic origin; related to Old High German wankōn to stagger

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

gauche

OTHER WORDS FOR gauche

Origin of gauche

OTHER WORDS FROM gauche

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH gauche

Words nearby gauche

Words related to gauche

How to use gauche in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gauche

Derived forms of gauche

Word Origin for gauche