infelicity
1
9.7
- noun
- /ˌɪnfəˈlɪsɪti/
- Formal
:
infelicidad
- In this context, it is not surprising that Ukrainian nationalism has given birth to even more confusion, typified by certain linguistic infelicities.
- remaining infelicities
Examples
-
Maureen McCallum Garvie looked at what I had to say through her critical literary lens; any infelicities that remain are my responsibility alone.
Academic text (2008) -
All remaining errors and infelicities are mine alone.
Academic text (2015) -
Any remaining infelicities or errors are, of course, my own.
Academic text (2006) -
Fortunately, there are enough infelicities in the current model to provide an opportunity.
Blog text (25) -
Many professional writers stumble into infelicities and inaccuracies.
Academic text (2016) -
We do have to revise with attention to infelicities of rhythm and flaws of syntax; there is, indeed, a great deal of conscious work to be done.
Academic text (2010) -
McCloskey: I reread obsessively, cold, following the Graves and Hodge technique of stopping when I can't follow it or I see an infelicity.
Academic text (2016) -
My thanks to the six people who skimmed to find typos, broken latex, and obvious grammatical infelicities or suggested inserting a bit more text for clarity.
Blog text (16) -
In her speech, she accidentally revealed several infelicities that made her seem uninformed.
-
Even experienced authors can make infelicities in their writing, which can weaken their arguments.
Synonyms
1
8.7
Not being able to speak or write clearly
A way of speaking or acting that sounds stiff and unnatural
Lack of skill in speaking or writing that makes ideas hard to follow
Antonyms
How Appropriate
1
7.0
4
7.0
- Formal
1
9.7
25
4.5
9
4.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
infelicity = felicity (semi-transparent) = in + felic + ity
The negative prefix is regular, but this sense is only inferable if the learner knows the less common sense of 'felicity' meaning aptness or appropriateness of expression.
Etymology
Infelicity begins with in- meaning 'not' and ends with felicity, which means 'happiness' or a 'suitable' choice. So an infelicity is a 'not-happy' or 'not-fitting' choice of words, an awkward or inappropriate expression.