[syn: indecorous, indelicate]
3. verging on the indecent;
- Example: "an indelicate proposition"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Indelicate \In*del"i*cate\, a. [Pref. in- not + delicate: cf. F.
ind['e]licat.]
Not delicate; wanting delicacy; offensive to good manners, or
to purity of mind; coarse; rude; as, an indelicate word or
suggestion; indelicate behavior. --Macaulay. --
In*del"i*cate*ly, adv.
Syn: Indecorous; unbecoming; unseemly; rude; coarse; broad;
impolite; gross; indecent; offensive; improper;
unchaste; impure; unrefined.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
indelicate
adj 1: in violation of good taste even verging on the indecent;
"an indelicate remark"; "an off-color joke" [syn:
indelicate, off-color, off-colour]
2: lacking propriety and good taste in manners and conduct;
"indecorous behavior" [syn: indecorous, indelicate] [ant:
decorous]
3: verging on the indecent; "an indelicate proposition"
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
30 Moby Thesaurus words for "indelicate":
callow, chintzy, crude, improper, in bad taste, inappropriate,
indecent, indecorous, indiscreet, inelegant, lewd, malodorous,
offensive, rough, rude, tasteless, unbecoming, unbeseeming,
uncouth, undecorous, undignified, unfitting, ungenteel, ungodly,
unseemly, unsuitable, untasteful, untoward, vulgar, wanton