gaucherie

[ goh-shuh-ree; French gohshuh-ree ]

noun

, plural gau·che·ries [goh-sh, uh, -, reez, gohsh, uh, -, ree].

1. lack of social grace, sensitivity, or acuteness; awkwardness; crudeness; tactlessness.
2. an act, movement, etc., that is socially graceless, awkward, or tactless.

gaucherie

/ ˈɡəʊʃərɪ; ˌɡəʊʃəˈriː; ɡoʃri /

noun

1. the quality of being gauche
2. a gauche act

Word History and Origins

Origin of gaucherie¹

From French, dating back to 1790–1800; gauche, -ery

Example Sentences

Determined to escape the gaucheries of the family’s exclusive Turtle Creek enclave, Yvonne ascends from cheerleader to top majorette baton twirler to debutante to sorority girl.

From New York Times

My shyness and gaucherie became worse, too, making me stolid and dumb when people came to the house.

From Literature

Mr. Tillerson does not let fall from his lips such gaucherie as “radical Islamic terrorism.”

From Washington Times

The American’s attempt to seem sophisticated is thus taken by the waiter as a mark of irredeemable American gaucherie.

From The New Yorker

Sommeliers look a bit shocked if I order a pretty pink rosé, and although I’ve tried to defy it, my mother’s commandment about the gaucherie of wearing white after Labor Day haunts me.

From New York Times

Related Words

• error
• gaffe
• lapse
• miscue
• misjudgment
• recklessness