Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The state or quality of being decent; propriety.
- noun Conformity to prevailing standards of propriety or modesty.
- noun Social or moral proprieties.
- noun Surroundings or services deemed necessary for an acceptable standard of living.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The state or quality of being decent, fit, suitable, or becoming; propriety of action, speech, dress, etc.; proper formality; becoming ceremony; modesty; specifically, freedom from ribaldry or obscenity.
- noun That which is decent or becoming.
- noun Synonyms Decorum, suitableness, neatness, purity, delicacy.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The quality or state of being decent, suitable, or becoming, in words or behavior; propriety of form in social intercourse, in actions, or in discourse; proper formality; becoming ceremony; seemliness; hence, freedom from obscenity or indecorum; modesty.
- noun That which is proper or becoming.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun the quality of being
decent ;propriety - noun That which is
proper orbecoming .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the quality of being polite and respectable
- noun the quality of conforming to standards of propriety and morality
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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By any definition of the word "decency" it's been a long time since
NYT > Home Page By JANET MASLIN 2011
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By any definition of the word "decency" it's been a long time since
NYT > Home Page By JANET MASLIN 2011
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Because a wingnut even momentarily showing a glimmer of decency is a news item these days. conservative guy says:
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To be the nation our founding fathers dreamt we would be, the left needs to learn decency from the right.
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Our international standing and reputation for decency is in tatters.
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In the name of decency, go home to your parents, you losers.
Screenwriter Frank Miller calls Occupy protesters 'thieves and rapists' 2011
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For those who don't see anything wrong with America's past, your lack of decency is evident.
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Finally some sense and common decency from a republican.
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The only way to defeat evil and stand up for morals, values, integrity, and decency is to vote against Democrats.
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But I just wanted to say that sometimes just plain decency and kindness are the best medicine.
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