indelicacy
1
8.1
- noun
- /ˌɪnˈdɛlɪkəsi/
- Formal
:
indelicadeza
- Despite the political indelicacy, I ask those I meet how someone could hack a neighbor to death with a machete.
Examples
-
Forgive the indelicacy, Lois, but you look terrible.
-
The rest of the story contains certain... indelicacies which are best discussed among men.
-
"Pardon the indelicacy," he said, which made me smile, though I tried not to.
Fiction book (1993) -
And you want to talk about indelicacies!
-
Yet, up to no more than a month ago, forgive the indelicacy of a policeman, the same young lady was equally devoted to you.
-
I'm a doctor, and if I may be permitted the indelicacy, you seen one, you've seen 'em all.
-
Any errors of fact or indelicacies of tone remain exclusively my responsibility.
Academic text (1991) -
He could only settle his ideas by supposing she really loved Major Cerwood and had suffered her character to be infected by the indelicacy that made a part of his own.
Academic text (2018) -
He not only condemns that "vulgar language and indelicacy of incident" to which traditionalists had objected in the work of Remarque and others, but he defends the memory of the "gallant" dead who were much and always more than passive victims.
Academic text (2013) -
She showed great indelicacy when she brought up his recent breakup during dinner.
Synonyms
313
1.3
A rude remark or action that hurts someone's feelings
133
3.4
Rude behavior or words that show a lack of respect for someone
28
7.4
A deliberate action that offends or shows no respect
27
1.8
Lack of politeness or respect for other people
19
7.2
Rude behavior or speech toward someone in authority
16
5.5
A lack of care for other people's feelings or needs
12
6.3
Behavior or speech people find offensive and wrong
7
7.0
An act or remark that shows a lack of respect
7
8.1
Rude behavior or remarks that show a lack of respect
6
7.9
A lack of respect for people or things that are usually respected
5
7.9
Rude behavior that shows no politeness
2
6.7
A quality that makes people feel hurt or angry
1
7.9
A short, direct way of speaking that often seems rude
1
4.1
Rude or disrespectful behavior toward other people
1
7.0
A harsh, rude manner or tone that offends people
1
9.8
A sharp, bitter way of speaking that hurts people
1
7.7
A short, slightly rude way of speaking to someone
1
8.2
A harsh, unkind way of speaking or acting
Being rude and not polite to other people
Not thinking about other people's feelings or needs
Not noticing or caring about how other people feel
Bad behavior that shows little respect and hurts others
Bad behaviour that breaks common polite rules
Lack of polite behavior or good taste
A sharp, bitter way of speaking that hurts people
Being unpleasant or offensive and making people feel dislike
A habit of saying secrets or acting without thinking
Antonyms
How Rude
Surface Forms
Morphology
indelicacy = indelicate (semi-transparent) = in + delicate + cy
The meaning is directly 'the quality or instance of being indelicate', but the adjective-to-noun formation involves a slightly less obvious stem change to -cy.
Etymology
Indelicacy starts with in- meaning 'not' and shares a root with delicate and delight, which originally meant 'to please'. So indelicacy is like 'not being delicate', meaning saying or doing something that is rude or not careful with people's feelings.