as in offence
a socially improper or unsuitable act or remark
the solecism of asking one's hosts how much something in their house cost them
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of solecism
The result is global English but one without the imprecision and solecism implied by that label.
—
Colin Marshall, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2022
And a single word couldn’t be a dead giveaway either, no matter how much people would like to portray the use of pled rather than pleaded as an obvious Trumpian solecism, especially when Dowd himself has been documented using pled at least once.
—Ben Zimmer, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2017
But the songwriter Tony Hatch has said he was inspired by Times Square—a solecism forgivable from a Brit.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2017
Solecism slipped into solipsism into full-blown narcissistic projection.
—Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2017
Colin Marshall, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2022
And a single word couldn’t be a dead giveaway either, no matter how much people would like to portray the use of pled rather than pleaded as an obvious Trumpian solecism, especially when Dowd himself has been documented using pled at least once.
—Ben Zimmer, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2017
But the songwriter Tony Hatch has said he was inspired by Times Square—a solecism forgivable from a Brit.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2017
Solecism slipped into solipsism into full-blown narcissistic projection.
—Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for solecism
Noun
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The blunder occurred while Trump, 78, was speaking with reporters at Joint Base Andrews military facility in Maryland after giving a speech at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on Friday, March 14.—
Escher Walcott,
People.com,
15 Mar. 2025
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The longer-term question is how much more patience and grace Trump’s base will grant Bondi, who already bears scars as the central figure in arguably the administration’s earliest blunder.—
David Catanese,
Miami Herald,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
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This makes people more forgiving when leaders make mistakes.—
Tendayi Viki,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
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Piastri, who made a mistake that cost him the win at the Australian GP last week, capitalized on clean air in Shanghai to steadily build his advantage as the race evolved into a strategic battle between one and two-stop strategies.—
Luke Smith,
The Athletic,
23 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The world watched in utter shock as Tiger’s pristine image unraveled amid revelations of marital indiscretions.—
Mike Bianchi,
Orlando Sentinel,
8 Mar. 2025
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The military’s strict code of conduct Hegseth’s indiscretions could impede his ability to lead by example, said the chief executive officer of the nation’s largest group of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.—
Tara Copp,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The lawsuit claims medical errors happened during the procedure, which led to the bowel perforation.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
27 Mar. 2025
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All the results were just outside margins of error.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Solecism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/solecism. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
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