ungrammatical

American  

[uhn-gruh-mat-i-kuhl] / ˌʌn grəˈmæt ɪ kəl /

adjective

1. grammatically incorrect or awkward; not conforming to the rules or principles of grammar or accepted usage.

   an ungrammatical sentence.

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ungrammatical British  

/ ˌʌnɡrəˈmætɪkəl /

adjective

1. (of a sentence) not regarded as correct by native speakers of the language

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Other Word Forms

• ungrammatically adverb

Etymology

Origin of ungrammatical

First recorded in 1645–55; un- ¹ + grammatical

Example Sentences

Nor does it explain how his social media presence, which was always ungrammatical and silly, has become even more unhinged and incoherent.

From Salon • Sep. 27, 2023

In June 1980, Wojnarowicz sent eight postcards in sequence, one a day, that spelled, in whimsical, elegant hand-drawn letters, “J’aime toi”— or, “I love you,” in ungrammatical French.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2022

Like most writers, I can be a stickler about language, but anyone who hangs out with me for long enough will learn that I favor a certain ungrammatical turn of phrase: “true fact.”

From The New Yorker • Dec. 19, 2018

First, seemingly thrown by syntactical complexity, it suggests that I should replace “there in a” with “there is a,” a change that would be ungrammatical, but that still leaves me questioning my own stylistic choices.

From Slate • Feb. 7, 2018

I didn’t even pay much attention to my parents’ accented and ungrammatical speech.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez