inelegance means the state or quality of being inelegant; lack of grace, refinement, beauty, or polish in language, composition, or manners. It carries an Arena rating of 1433, earned across 60 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, inelegance ranks #3,422 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,191 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #8,300 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #10,314 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words.
Why “inelegance” is a great word
INELEGANCE — [Noun] The state or quality of lacking grace, refinement, beauty, or polish in language, composition, or manners. From Middle French inélégance, from Late Latin inelegantia, from in- ("not") + elegantia ("elegance"). First recorded in English 1720–30. Unlike clumsiness, which implies a failure of physical coordination, or awkwardness, which denotes social discomfort, inelegance is a specific critique of aesthetic failure. It is the poorly grafted seam on an otherwise fine garment, the jarring clang of a flat note in a practiced sonata, or the blunt phrase that ends a conversation—each a minor, grating proof that effort is not always synonymous with beauty.
Etymology
From Middle French inélégance, from Late Latin inelegantia.
noun
- The state or quality of being inelegant; lack of grace, refinement, beauty, or polish in language, composition, or manners.e.g.“The inelegance of the ugly duckling stood in contrast to its ultimate life as a swan.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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