gauche

American  

[gohsh] / goʊʃ /

adjective

1. lacking social grace, sensitivity, or acuteness; awkward; crude; tactless.

   Their exquisite manners always make me feel gauche.

   Synonyms:

   uncouth, gross, coarse, maladroit, clumsy, inept

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gauche British  

/ ɡəʊʃ /

adjective

1. lacking ease of manner; tactless

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Other Word Forms

• gauchely adverb
• gaucheness noun

Etymology

Origin of gauche

1745–55; < French: awkward, left; Middle French, derivative of gauchir to turn, veer < Germanic

Example Sentences

But today she counters these stereotypes, writing: “It is not gauche to write about trauma. It is subversive.”

From Los Angeles Times

Inheritance would set my mind at ease about the cut and help in planning, but asking feels gauche and grabby.

From Washington Post

The Queens-born outsider was always striving for acceptance in society’s various hierarchies — real estate, business, entertainment, politics — but was often dismissed as a little too gauche.

From Washington Post

Set in Canada in 1972, and dramatizing an actual experiment designed to test the effects of cannabis on young women, this agonizingly gauche movie feels like a missed opportunity for a searing ethical investigation.

From New York Times

It would be gauche to munch gooey nachos while elegantly sipping your perfectly chilled dry martini.

From Seattle Times