gauche
adjective
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Gauche and Being Left-Handed
Gauche is one of several words that come from old suspicions or negative associations surrounding the left side and use of the left hand. In French, gauche literally means "left," and it has the extended meanings "awkward" and "clumsy." These meanings may have come about because left-handed people could appear awkward trying to manage in a right-handed world, or perhaps they came about because right-handed people appear awkward when they try to use their left hand. In fact, awkward comes from the Middle English awke, meaning "turned the wrong way" or "left-handed." On the other hand, adroit and dexterity have their roots in words meaning "right" or "on the right side."
Synonyms
- awkward
- clumsy
- graceless
- inelegant
- rough-hewn
- rustic
- rustical
- stiff
- stilted
- uncomfortable
- uneasy
- ungraceful
- wooden
Example Sentences
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 Would it be gauche of me to ask her how old she is? his loud talking at the opera marked him as gauche and uncultured See More Matt Ford, The New Republic, 19 May 2022 Dear Looking: Greeting your host with your Gladware out and at the ready is definitely gauche. Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 28 Oct. 2021 Maybe French tips aren't gauche for the Met Gala, after all. Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 8 June 2018 Another newspaper innovation introduced by Nicholson was a society column, which was seen by some in the city as gauche and bordering on scandalous. NOLA.com, 24 Jan. 2018 However, purists view purchasing king cakes before Jan. 6 as a demonstration of gauche impatience. NOLA.com, 5 Jan. 2018 Today, mass production and an abundance of cheap knockoffs have rendered conspicuous consumption unremarkable at best and gauche at worst. J.c. Pan, New Republic, 1 Aug. 2017 Old money, historically, has been stereotyped as having a Brahmin disdain for such a gauche topic. Paul Sullivan, New York Times, 19 May 2017 See More Word History
French, literally, left
1751, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
gauche
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- awkward
- uncomfortable
- clumsy
- uneasy
- embarrassed
- inelegant
- ungraceful
- timid
- graceless
- wooden
- rustic
- stilted
- stiff
- uncouth
- boorish
- upset
- flustered
- ungainly
- gawky
- nervous
- clownish
- angular
- meek
- disturbed
- rustical
- lubberly
- agitated
- rough-hewn
- diffident
- abashed
- unsettled
- disconcerted
- discomposed
- discomfited
- mortified
- perturbed
- nonplussed
- unhinged
- distressed
- discomforted
- modest
- bothered
- insecure
- unassertive
- unassuming
- chagrined
- self-conscious
- discountenanced
- fazed
- jumpy
- unpretentious
- disquieted
- jittery
- dismayed
- rattled
- nonplused
- self-doubting
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- graceful
- suave
- urbane
- composed
- cool
- confident
- unperturbed
- placid
- serene
- poised
- collected
- calm
- undisturbed
- secure
- tranquil
- assured
- self-assured
- self-possessed
- self-confident
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of gauche are awkward, clumsy, inept, and maladroit. While all these words mean "not marked by ease (as of performance, movement, or social conduct)," gauche implies the effects of shyness, inexperience, or ill breeding.
The words awkward and gauche can be used in similar contexts, but awkward is widely applicable and may suggest unhandiness, inconvenience, lack of muscular control, embarrassment, or lack of tact.
The synonyms clumsy and gauche are sometimes interchangeable, but clumsy implies stiffness and heaviness and so may connote inflexibility, unwieldiness, or lack of ordinary skill.
While in some cases nearly identical to gauche, inept often implies complete failure or inadequacy.
The words maladroit and gauche are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, maladroit suggests a tendency to create awkward situations.