as in mistake
a socially improper or unsuitable act or remark
according to an oft-told story, the queen set a guest at ease about a faux pas by politely imitating it
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Recent Examples of faux pas
They were then told or shown photos that gave them a sense of how the person who made the faux pas reacted.
—
Angela Haupt, Time, 27 Feb. 2026
Read Megan Feringa’s story for more on the football faux pas.
—Emily Olsen, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026
Yet, the number of travel faux pas tourists make while strolling the streets of Milan, meandering through ancient ruins in Athens, or cruising around the Mediterranean remains pretty high, considering the increase in visits to Europe's major cities.
—Jillian Dara, Travel + Leisure, 20 Feb. 2026
But to hear Short tell it, that camaraderie was nearly shattered in September when the veteran comedian committed what might be the ultimate wedding faux pas at the nuptials of Gomez and music producer Benny Blanco.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for faux pas
Angela Haupt, Time, 27 Feb. 2026
Read Megan Feringa’s story for more on the football faux pas.
—Emily Olsen, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026
Yet, the number of travel faux pas tourists make while strolling the streets of Milan, meandering through ancient ruins in Athens, or cruising around the Mediterranean remains pretty high, considering the increase in visits to Europe's major cities.
—Jillian Dara, Travel + Leisure, 20 Feb. 2026
But to hear Short tell it, that camaraderie was nearly shattered in September when the veteran comedian committed what might be the ultimate wedding faux pas at the nuptials of Gomez and music producer Benny Blanco.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for faux pas
Recent Examples of Synonyms for faux pas
Noun
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Wahlin said that there’s a difference between making a mistake and making a hard-working mistake.—
Dean Spiros,
Twin Cities,
15 Mar. 2026
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Mikaela Shiffrin improved from 12th following a costly mistake in the opening run to finish fifth and protect her lead in the overall standings.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Also Sunday, Deniz Undav scored for the fifth Bundesliga game in a row as a goalkeeping blunder handed Stuttgart a 1-0 win over Leipzig to strengthen its push to qualify for the Champions League.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Mar. 2026
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Problems with the city’s rollout of the trash and Balboa Park parking programs didn’t help, and further built on City Hall’s history of operational snafus and policy blunders.—
Michael Smolens,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Republicans have a tiny majority in the House, but a larger margin for error in the Senate, except for the filibuster.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
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Simply put, if a human operator senses something is going wrong, the robot should react before the error escalates.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Faux pas.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faux%20pas. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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