tasteless

adjective

ˈtāst-ləs How to pronounce tasteless (audio)
Definition of tastelessnext
1
as in crass
lacking in refinement or good taste posted a completely tasteless comment that drew immediate rebuke

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bland
lacking in taste or flavor breakfast was usually plain, tasteless oatmeal

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in inappropriate
marked by an obvious lack of style or good taste a tasteless suit that he wore to the party as a joke

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tasteless Besides the poor-quality, tasteless meat, the batter on the potatoes is actively bitter and way too bready. — Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 28 Aug. 2026 Throwing a stiff arm on Patrick Mahomes’ presumed flavor of choice is hardly tasteless. — Jess Bryant, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026 The coating is designed to be essentially tasteless and preserve the produce’s natural flavor, Yang said. — Teresa Mull, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2026 Vehicle sales have been plunging as customers are driven away by the richest man in the world’s tasteless behavior and erratic commentary. — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 23 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for tasteless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tasteless
  1. crass
  2. bland
  3. inappropriate
  4. vulgar
  5. thin
  6. unsuitable
  7. rude
  8. insipid
Adjective
  • But the fashionable-at-the-time nakedness of the YBAs’ desire for money, most completely embodied by Hirst, quickly became crass.
    — Eliza Goodpasture, ARTnews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Murdoch is thick-skinned and accustomed to being underestimated by the condescending Brits, who see him as a crass interloper.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of crass
Adjective
  • The high-wire act that followed—in which performers had to make these bland conceits into something funny without, ostensibly, preparing any jokes in advance—introduced a tension that made sketch shows feel sedate and uneven by comparison.
    — Dan Brooks, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
  • The rising cost of these licenses has also led to the mass production of bland designs.
    — Matt Martell, Vogue, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of bland
Adjective
  • Parental Controls for Shared Devices Parents can restrict access to adult and inappropriate content, which helps when kids use the same phones, tablets, or laptops.
    — StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Val Chmerkovskiy has been suspended from Dancing with the Stars for one week after making an inappropriate comment toward one of the judges last week.
    — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of inappropriate
Adjective
  • Continue reading … SOUR NOTE — Hayley Williams unleashes vulgar insult at DHS after agency defends ICE officers.
    — , FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
  • This has made some machine translations comically inaccurate, sometimes turning innocuous words into vulgar references in English.
    — Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of vulgar
Adjective
  • Bajaria may also have hit thin ice with Sarandos after the streamer won just 16 Primetime Emmy Awards this year — its worst showing since 2016 and down from 30 in 2025.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
  • It was designed with a column, sheath silhouette, with sequins, thin spaghetti straps and a midlength skirt.
    — Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of thin
Adjective
  • At one unsuitable Gramercy apartment, Taylor encountered Cam Armand, a salesperson on the Kota team at Compass, and the Folwells enlisted his help.
    — Joyce Cohen, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • In a setting designed to make exceptional yachts desirable, explaining why a particular vessel is unsuitable requires commercial discipline.
    — Christoph Lymbersky, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of unsuitable
Adjective
  • Were my siblings rude to ignore my plan and take them for themselves?
    — Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 14 Oct. 2026
  • An alligator with a sense of humor knocked on a North Carolina woman’s front door in the middle of the night, and the rascal got a rather rude response.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of rude
Adjective
  • In the meantime, there’s a lot of unwieldy comic commotion involving a missing corpse, a tweaking, naked Dwight and enough insipid TV sibling bickering to clog the airwaves for a decade.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Otherwise, the defence failed to defend, the midfield got overrun and the attack was so insipid that Wrexham managed just one shot on target — George Dobson’s 35th-minute effort that Konstantinos Mavropanos blocked just in front of the goal line.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of insipid

Browse Nearby Words

tastefulness
tasteless
tastelessness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tasteless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tasteless. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of jilt

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All