Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

indelicate

[in-del-i-kit]
See more synonyms for indelicate on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. offensive to a sense of generally accepted propriety, modesty, or decency; improper, unrefined, or coarse: indelicate language.
  2. not delicate; lacking delicacy; rough.
Show More

Origin of indelicate

First recorded in 1735–45; in-3 + delicate
Related formsin·del·i·cate·ly, adverbin·del·i·cate·ness, noun

Synonyms

See more synonyms for indelicate on Thesaurus.com
1. indecorous, untactful, gauche, rude.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for indelicate

Historical Examples

  • Dear me, ma'am, but when nobody will know it, how can it be indelicate?

    Tales And Novels, Volume 5 (of 10)

    Maria Edgeworth

  • Of course it would be indelicate, if not unfeeling, to ask her about it.

  • "You are indelicate," said she, and though she frowned her eyes laughed.

    Scaramouche

    Rafael Sabatini

  • I should never have suspected you of so indelicate an imagination.

    Scaramouche

    Rafael Sabatini

  • The remonstrant of 1800 said "indelicate," of 1850 "immodest," of 1900 "impractical."

British Dictionary definitions for indelicate

indelicate

adjective
  1. coarse, crude, or rough
  2. offensive, embarrassing, or tasteless
Show More
Derived Formsindelicacy or indelicateness, nounindelicately, adverb
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

Word Origin and History for indelicate

adj.

1742, "offensive to propriety," from in- (1) "not, opposite of" + delicate. Related: Indelicately.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper