indelicate

American  

[in-del-i-kit] / ɪnˈdɛl ɪ kɪt /

adjective

1. offensive to a sense of generally accepted propriety, modesty, or decency; improper, unrefined, or coarse.

   indelicate language.

   Synonyms:

   rude, gauche, untactful, indecorous

2. not delicate; lacking delicacy; rough.

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indelicate British  

/ ɪnˈdɛlɪkɪt /

adjective

1. coarse, crude, or rough

2. offensive, embarrassing, or tasteless

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Other Word Forms

• indelicacy noun
• indelicately adverb
• indelicateness noun

Etymology

Origin of indelicate

First recorded in 1735–45; in- ³ + delicate

Explanation

Indelicate things are offensive or rude. If you tell an indelicate joke to your sweet, old-fashioned great-grandmother, it'll make her blush. Many people would consider the question, "How much money do you make?" to be an indelicate one — it's tactless to ask it. Dirty jokes are indelicate because they're in bad taste, likely to offend someone. The adjective indelicate uses the "not" prefix in- along with delicate, which here means "tactful and considerate."

Example Sentences

In occasionally indelicate detail, “Tusker: Brotherhood of Elephants” studies the reproductive lives of Kenya’s rare “tuskers”—animals whose tusks weigh more than 100 pounds apiece, making them especially attractive to poachers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026

Under its showrunners, Rich Appel and Alec Sulkin, “Family Guy” continues to carve out its own indelicate but undeniably funny path on Fox, FXX and Hulu.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2024

Forgive his indelicate language; do not forgive those who resent the fact that the Masterman School once was a rake.

From Washington Post • Mar. 24, 2023

Senior aides, worried about having to explain an indelicate, imprecise or speculative remark, rarely make Biden available for long-form interviews.

From Reuters • Sep. 27, 2022

I finally made it to the landing and, with one final indelicate grunt, pulled the trunk onto it after me.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs