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Synonyms

indelicacy

American  
[in-del-i-kuh-see] / ɪnˈdɛl ɪ kə si /

noun

  • indelicacies
    plural
  1. the quality or condition of being indelicate.

  2. something indelicate, as language or behavior.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of indelicacy

First recorded in 1705–15; in- 3 + delicacy


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.

See Examples For:

I was listening to them talk of quality and seasonability when the young perfumer, with all the indelicacy of a greenhorn, announced, “I have some oudh.”

From New York Times ● May 10, 2021

Almost every interviewer he has faced has tried to lure him into some sort of indelicacy.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 20, 2020

It was an accusation against a close U.S. ally that had never been voiced so publicly and with such indelicacy.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 2, 2017

"We are mortified and grieved that he should have been guilty of such great indelicacy and impropriety," said the New York Courier and Enquirer, then the country's most popular paper.

From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2012

“But there seems an indelicacy in directing his attentions towards her so soon after this event.”

From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

Memories stirred by Mr. Hartley — an Australian filmmaker who has explored such indelicacies as Filipino exploitation cinema, in the documentary “Machete Maidens Unleashed!” — are not warm and fuzzy.

From New York Times ● Sep. 7, 2014

Puritans and preachers classified novel reading with such female indelicacies as leg-crossing and nose-blowing.

From Time Magazine Archive

The people of Albany are gracious and kind . . . and seem to be resentful of indelicacies.

From Time Magazine Archive

These indelicacies are mimed in silhouette behind a scrim.

From Time Magazine Archive

Unsavory sorts murmured indelicacies at cutlet stands; grandmothers consulted almanacs to determine a propitious hour for the betrothal.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

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