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solecism

noun/ˈsɒlɪsɪz(ə)m/

C2CEFR level
90/100Rarity: very rare
FormalRegister

A grammatical mistake or a breach of good manners or etiquette.

Confusing 'who' and 'whom' is a common solecism that pedants delight in correcting.

Similar: blunder, impropriety, gaffe

Origin: From Greek soloikismos, from Soloi, a city whose dialect was thought corrupt.

Topic: error in General English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More general words: error