inappropriate
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- inappropriately adverb
- inappropriateness noun
Etymology
Origin of inappropriate
First recorded in 1795–1805; in- 3 + appropriate
Explanation
The word "appropriate" means correct or proper and since the little prefix "in" turns its meaning around, something inappropriate is considered not proper or suitable. Nowadays, it seems, anything goes. Yet good manners and standards prevail, and some things are simply inappropriate — such as taking a toddler to a violent movie, or making jokes at someone else's expense. You wouldn't show your future father-in-law naked pictures of his daughter or wear a bathing suit to a state dinner. Those actions are simply inappropriate.
Vocabulary lists containing inappropriate
Fish in a Tree
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Nothing But the Truth
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Game Changer
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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.
In the April 7 article that accompanied the photos, Russini and Vrabel gave statements denying that anything inappropriate was happening between them.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026
While Spain and Ireland had put the issue of halting the agreement back on the table at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called the proposal "inappropriate".
From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026
On Monday, he and former Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, another congressman accused of inappropriate relationships with staff, resigned amid a bipartisan push led by two women to expel them from office.
From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026
“It is inappropriate to dismiss the review’s conclusions because it presented pooled outcomes as well as individual ones.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026
I am saddened by inappropriate music about which it is damning enough to say that it is not good enough, and not even the best of its authentic kind—folk, pop, quasireligious Broadway show tunes.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
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.
