tasteless

American  

[teyst-lis] / ˈteɪst lɪs /

adjective

1. having no taste or flavor; insipid.

2. dull; uninteresting.

3. lacking in aesthetic quality or capacity; devoid of good taste.

   a houseful of tasteless furnishings; a tasteless director of stale, dreary films.

4. lacking in politeness, seemliness, tact, etc.; unmannerly; insensitive.

   a tasteless remark.

5. lacking the physical sense of taste.

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tasteless British  

/ ˈteɪstlɪs /

adjective

1. lacking in flavour; insipid

2. lacking social or aesthetic taste

3. rare unable to taste

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Other Word Forms

• tastelessly adverb
• tastelessness noun

Etymology

Origin of tasteless

First recorded in 1585–95; taste + -less

Example Sentences

Critics of prediction markets decry betting on wars as ghoulish and tasteless.

From The Wall Street Journal

“My mother finds this whole thing quite tasteless,” Cobb told the Calgary Herald.

From The Wall Street Journal

I chewed on it for a while, but it was utterly tasteless.

From Literature

Neither in the movie nor in the musical do these vividly tasteless and self-regarding figures come across as appealing, although the musical does succeed in softening them with humor and amplifies Jackie’s backstory.

From The Wall Street Journal

But speech that is tasteless has always been protected by the First Amendment.

From Salon

Related Words

• crass
• crude
• foolish
• garish
• off-color
• outlandish
• pretentious
• rude
• stupid
• tacky
• tawdry