infelicitous
[in-fuh-lis-i-tuh s]
- inapt, inappropriate, or awkward; malapropos: an infelicitous remark.
- not felicitous, happy, or fortunate; unhappy.
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Origin of infelicitous
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
adverseafflictedawkwardbrokenburdenedcalamitouscurseddamagingdeplorabledesperatedestitutedisastrousdoomedforsakenhaplesshopelessill-fatedinappropriateineptinopportuneExamples from the Web for infelicitous
Contemporary Examples
But viral advertising based on an infelicitous turn of phrase is not something Filexec is interested in, Chavez said.
Historical Examples
The name of the gentleman who enjoyed this infelicitous distinction was Tretherick.
Tales of the ArgonautsBret Harte
Perhaps these circumstances gave the locality its infelicitous reputation.
Legends and TalesBret Harte
To Burnett it had been only a canvas daubed with infelicitous paint.
The Maker of OpportunitiesGeorge Gibbs
In the first place, their choice of Monmouth as the heir was infelicitous.
Were it not that the salutation were infelicitous, we should have said, "Hail, all hail!"
infelicitous
- not felicitous; unfortunate
- inappropriate or unsuitable
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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 infelicitous
adj.
1754, from in- (1) "not, opposite of" + felicitous. Related: infelicitously.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper