gauche

adjective \ˈgōsh\

: having or showing a lack of awareness about the proper way to behave : socially awkward

sometimes gauch·er sometimes gauch·est

Full Definition of GAUCHE

a : lacking social experience or grace; also : not tactful : crude <it would be gauche to mention the subject>

b : crudely made or done <a gauche turn of phrase>

: not planar <gauche conformation of molecules>

— gauche·ly adverb

— gauche·ness noun

See gauche defined for English-language learners

See gauche defined for kids

Examples of GAUCHE

Among élite scientists, it was usually considered gauche to be obsessed with anything so tangible or immediate: brilliant discoveries were supposed to percolate. —Michael Specter, New Yorker, 3 Dec. 2007
… furnished it with, among other things, an embarrassingly gauche, oversized Roman Catholic basilica rumored to be larger even than St. Peter's in Vatican City… —Marc A. Schindler, Verbatim, Spring 1992
We were suburban housewives and mothers. As poets we took a respectful backseat to the male poets. We did not talk about our husbands and children in public; that would have been gauche indeed. —Maxine Kumin, In Deep,1987
So lofty was her depreciatory manner that I felt myself gauche and was put on the defensive. —Joseph Heller, God Knows,1984
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Origin of GAUCHE

French, literally, left

First Known Use: 1751

Related to GAUCHE

Synonyms: clumsy, awkward, graceless, inelegant, rough-hewn, rustic (also rustical), stiff, stilted, uncomfortable, uneasy, ungraceful, wooden

Antonyms: graceful, suave, urbane

Synonym Discussion of GAUCHE

awkward, clumsy, maladroit, inept, gauche mean not marked by ease (as of performance, movement, or social conduct). awkward is widely applicable and may suggest unhandiness, inconvenience, lack of muscular control, embarrassment, or lack of tact <periods of awkward silence>. clumsy implies stiffness and heaviness and so may connote inflexibility, unwieldiness, or lack of ordinary skill <a clumsy mechanic>. maladroit suggests a tendency to create awkward situations <a maladroit politician>. inept often implies complete failure or inadequacy <a hopelessly inept defense attorney>. gauche implies the effects of shyness, inexperience, or ill breeding <felt gauche and unsophisticated at formal parties>.