SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS

tactless

adjective

Insensitive to how words or actions may embarrass or offend others.

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Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.

Insensitive in manner

Closest synonyms

inconsiderate insensitive undiplomatic gauche clumsy unthinking

Related words and expressions

These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.

Usage distinction

Tactless comments needlessly embarrass or offend. Blunt can describe welcome directness, while indiscreet concerns revealing what should be handled privately.

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CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT

See tactless in use

The tactless joke made the new speaker feel unwelcome.

Dictionary practice example.

A tactless comment about another volunteer's inexpensive serving dishes then embarrassed the person who had generously brought them.

From Hosting with Consideration.

Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.

Synonym reference scope and sources

The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.

How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license

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