Contretemps
//ˈkɒn.tɹə.tɑ̃ŋ// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An unforeseen, inopportune, or embarrassing event.
"...and said "she had been the most efficient friend of the charity;" and whether a whisper that had gone forth respecting her contretemps with the strange man was spread, or it had fortunately been so well managed by the Count as to have escaped observation..."
- 2 an awkward clash wordnet
- 3 An ill-timed pass.
Example
More examples"...and said "she had been the most efficient friend of the charity;" and whether a whisper that had gone forth respecting her contretemps with the strange man was spread, or it had fortunately been so well managed by the Count as to have escaped observation..."
Etymology
Borrowed from French contretemps.
Related phrases
More for "contretemps"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.