Phrase guide

faux pas

noun · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation, singular: /ˌfəʊ ˈpɑː/
  • Received-Pronunciation, plural: /ˌfəʊ ˈpɑːz/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American, singular: /ˌfoʊ ˈpɑ/
  • General-American, plural: /ˌfoʊ ˈpɑz/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An embarrassing or tactless blunder.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: misstep, mistake, blunder, aberration, bloomer, blooper, boner, boo-boo, break, clanger, cock-up, disadventure, error, fault, faux pas, floater, flub, fluff, fuckup, gaffe, goof, howler, inaccuracy, lapse, lapsus, mess-up, misadventure, oopsy, screwup, slip, slip-up, slipup, stumble, thinko, wrength, solecism, erroneity

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To commit a faux pas; to blunder.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: nonstandard, rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a socially awkward or tactless act

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: gaffe, solecism, slip, gaucherie

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: blunder, blooper, bloomer, bungle, pratfall, foul-up, fuckup, flub, botch, boner, boo-boo

History

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French faux pas (“faux pas, blunder; misstep, false step”).

Across languages

Translations

38 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: pas fals — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Catalan: pas en fals — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Catalan: passa en fals — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Chinese Mandarin: 失禮 /失礼 (shīlǐ) — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Chinese Mandarin: 失態 /失态 (shītài) — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Chinese Mandarin: 失足 (shīzú) — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Chinese Mandarin: 過失 /过失 (guòshī) — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Chinese Mandarin: 失誤 /失误 (shīwù) — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Czech: faux pas — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Czech: trapas — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Danish: træde i spinaten — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Dutch: uitschuiver — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Esperanto: mispaŝo — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Finnish: kömmähdys — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Finnish: etikettivirhe — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Finnish: moka — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Finnish: harha-askel — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • French: faux pas — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • French: impair — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • French: gaffe — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • French: bourde — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • German: Fauxpas — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Italian: passo falso — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Japanese: 過失 (kashitsu) — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Polish: faux pas — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Portuguese: passo em falso — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Russian: беста́ктность (bestáktnostʹ) — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Russian: некраси́вый посту́пок (nekrasívyj postúpok) — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Russian: просту́пок (prostúpok) — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Russian: опло́шность (oplóšnostʹ) — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Russian: ло́жный шаг (lóžnyj šag) — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Slovak: trapas — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Slovak: prešľap — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Spanish: metida de pata — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Spanish: metedura de pata — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Swedish: klavertramp — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Swedish: fadäs — an embarrassing or tactless blunder
  • Vietnamese: thất lễ — an embarrassing or tactless blunder