tasteless

/ˈteɪstlɪs/

/ˈteɪstlɪs/

Something that's tasteless is either very bland, like a plain baked potato with no seasoning, or it's tacky and inappropriate, like the tasteless jokes your uncle likes to tell at Thanksgiving.

If your tuna casserole is tasteless, you should add some salt and pepper. If your relative is tasteless, that's a trickier problem to solve. In the latter case, tasteless means "lacking in judgment" or "offensive." So a joke that hurts someone's feelings is tasteless, and wearing a dress made out of rubbish you found in the recycling bin to your cousin's wedding would also be tasteless — unless the wedding's theme is "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."

Definitions of tasteless

1. adjective

   lacking flavor
   synonyms:

   unappetising, unappetizing

   not appetizing in appearance, aroma, or taste

   unpalatable

   not pleasant or acceptable to the taste or mind

   bland, flat, flavorless, flavourless, insipid, savorless, savourless, vapid

   lacking taste or flavor or tang

   nonflavored, nonflavoured, unflavored, unflavoured

   without flavoring added

   unsalted, unseasoned

   without salt or seasoning

   antonyms:

   tasty

   pleasing to the sense of taste

   appetising, appetizing

   appealing to or stimulating the appetite especially in appearance or aroma

   salty

   containing or filled with salt

   palatable, toothsome

   acceptable to the taste or mind

   sweet

   having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar

   sour

   having a sharp biting taste

   acid-tasting, sour-tasting

   having a sour acidic taste

   ambrosial, ambrosian, nectarous

   extremely pleasing to the taste; sweet and fragrant

   bitter

   causing a sharp and acrid taste experience;"quinine is bitter"

   bitterish, sharp-tasting

   somewhat bitter

   bittersweet, semisweet

   having a taste that is a mixture of bitterness and sweetness

   choice

   appealing to refined taste

   dainty

   especially pleasing to the taste

   delectable, delicious, luscious, pleasant-tasting, scrumptious, toothsome, yummy

   extremely pleasing to the sense of taste

   flavorful, flavorous, flavorsome, flavourful, flavourous, flavoursome, sapid, saporous

   full of flavor

   fruity

   tasting or smelling richly of or as of fruit

   full-bodied, racy, rich, robust

   marked by richness and fullness of flavor

   peppery

   having the piquant burning taste of peppers

   gingery

   having a taste like that of ginger

   hot, spicy

   producing a burning sensation on the taste nerves

   grapey, grapy

   having a taste like that of grapes

   mild-tasting

   having a mild taste

   nippy

   a sharp biting taste

   nutlike, nutty

   having the flavor of nuts

   piquant, savory, savoury, spicy, zesty

   having an agreeably pungent taste

   acrid, pungent

   strong and sharp to the sense of taste or smell

   salty

   one of the four basic taste sensations; like the taste of sea water

   smoky

   tasting of smoke

   sour

   one of the four basic taste sensations; like the taste of vinegar or lemons

   strong-flavored

   having a strong taste

   winey, winy

   having the taste of wine
2. adjective

   lacking aesthetic or social taste
   synonyms:

   inelegant

   lacking in refinement or grace or good taste

   pretentious

   making claim to or creating an appearance of (often undeserved) importance or distinction

   barbaric

   unrestrained and crudely rich

   brassy, cheap, flash, flashy, garish, gaudy, gimcrack, glitzy, loud, meretricious, tacky, tatty, tawdry, trashy

   tastelessly showy

   Brummagem

   cheap and showy

   camp, campy

   providing sophisticated amusement by virtue of having artificially (and vulgarly) mannered or banal or sentimental qualities

   indelicate, off-color, off-colour

   in violation of good taste even verging on the indecent

   ostentatious, pretentious

   (of a display) tawdry or vulgar

   antonyms:

   tasteful

   having or showing or conforming to good taste

   elegant

   refined and tasteful in appearance or behavior or style

   unpretentious

   lacking pretension or affectation

   aesthetic, artistic, esthetic

   aesthetically pleasing

   understated, unostentatious, unpretentious

   exhibiting restrained good taste