contretemps

Advancedzipf 1.75

Pronunciation

/ˈkɒntrətɒ̃/(KON-truh-ton)

Part of speech

nounformal

Chinese

意外的不幸事件；小摩擦

Definition

An unexpected and unfortunate occurrence; a minor dispute or disagreement.

Word family

  • (no common derivatives)

Collocations

  • a minor contretemps
  • an embarrassing contretemps
  • diplomatic contretemps
  • unfortunate contretemps

Examples

  1. 1.The dinner party was going well until a contretemps over politics ruined the mood. (minor clash)
  2. 2.After the contretemps at the meeting, the two colleagues avoided each other for weeks. (awkward incident)

Synonyms

  • mishap/ˈmɪshæp/— minor accident
  • dispute/dɪˈspjuːt/— argument
  • altercation/ˌɒltəˈkeɪʃən/— heated argument

Etymology

from French "contretemps" — contre (against) + temps (time) — something that happens at the wrong time