infelicitous

/ˌˈɪnfəˌlɪsədəs/

You can use the adjective infelicitous when something doesn't work quite right, whether it's a remark or a wrong turn down a dark street or an unfortunate outfit worn to a job interview.

If the ultimate outcome is awkward or unhappy, it's infelicitous. It would be infelicitous to complain about the broken air conditioning in your Mercedes while volunteering at a homeless shelter. In other words, it would be dreadfully inappropriate. Since the 1530s, infelicitous has been used to mean the opposite of felicitous, meaning "happy," which comes from the Latin word for "happiness," felicitas.

Definitions of infelicitous

1. adjective

   not appropriate in application; defective
   “an infelicitous remark”

   “infelicitous phrasing”

   “the infelicitous typesetting was due to illegible copy”

   synonyms:

   awkward, clumsy, cumbersome, ill-chosen, inapt, inept

   not elegant or graceful in expression

   unfortunate

   unsuitable or regrettable

   unhappy

   experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent

   antonyms:

   felicitous

   exhibiting an agreeably appropriate manner or style

   congratulatory, gratulatory

   expressive of sympathetic pleasure or joy on account of someone's success or good fortune

   happy, well-chosen

   well expressed and to the point

   well-turned

   (of language) aptly and pleasingly expressed

   well-wishing

   extending good wishes for success

   happy

   enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
2. adjective

   marked by or producing unhappiness
   “infelicitous circumstances”

   synonyms: unhappy

   unfortunate

   not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune