gaffe
7 synonyms for gaffe, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — An embarrassing mistake made in public, especially something tactless said in front of the wrong people.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
How to use gaffe
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
political gaffe
commit a gaffe
gaffe-prone
embarrassing gaffe
Neutral in journalism, where it is standard for political slips; slightly literary in casual speech.
Etymology
From French gaffe, a boat hook, which came to be used figuratively for a clumsy blunder.
Full origin of gaffe →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a gaffe and a faux pas?
They overlap heavily. A faux pas is a breach of etiquette, such as arriving in jeans to a black-tie dinner. A gaffe is more often a verbal slip that reveals something you should not have said, and it usually happens in public.
What is the difference between gaffe and gaff?
A gaffe is an embarrassing blunder. A gaff is a pole with a hook for landing fish, a spar on a sail, or in British slang someone's house.
What is a 'Kinsley gaffe'?
It is a term used in political journalism for the case where a politician gets into trouble not for misspeaking but for accidentally saying what they truly believe. The embarrassment comes from the candour, not the error.
