Decent
['diːs(ə)nt] or ['disnt]
Definition
(adj.) conforming to conventions of sexual behavior; 'speech in this circle, if not always decent, never became lewd'- George Santayana .
(adj.) observing conventional sexual mores in speech or behavior or dress; 'a modest neckline in her dress'; 'though one of her shoulder straps had slipped down, she was perfectly decent by current standards' .
(adj.) decently clothed; 'are you decent?' .
(adj.) socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous; 'from a decent family'; 'a nice girl' .
Checker: Valerie--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Suitable in words, behavior, dress, or ceremony; becoming; fit; decorous; proper; seemly; as, decent conduct; decent language.
(a.) Free from immodesty or obscenity; modest.
(a.) Comely; shapely; well-formed.
(a.) Moderate, but competent; sufficient; hence, respectable; fairly good; reasonably comfortable or satisfying; as, a decent fortune; a decent person.
Inputed by Ezra
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Proper, becoming, fit, befitting, suitable, decorous, seemly, comely.[2]. Modest, delicate, pure.[3]. Tolerable, passable, moderate, respectable.
Edited by Bernice
Synonyms and Antonyms
[See ABASH]
Checked by Clive
Definition
adj. becoming: seemly: proper: modest: moderate: tolerable.—n. Dē′cency becomingness: modesty.—adv. Dē′cently.
Typist: Lycurgus
Examples
- Beg your pardon, sir, but this here officer o' yourn in the gambooge tops, 'ull never earn a decent livin' as a master o' the ceremonies any vere. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- There, sir, you are redd up and made decent. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- He was dressed all in decent black, with a white cravat round his neck. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- He would make Mrs. George Osborne an allowance, such as to assure her a decent competency. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- The decent hair-guard that went round his neck and took care of his decent silver watch was an object of envy to her. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- But let me see thee use the dress and costume of thy English ancestry--no short cloaks, no gay bonnets, no fantastic plumage in my decent household. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- There were a great many people, mostly of the decent sort, at the bar. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- But she was a decent sort, really--' 'Render unto Caesarina the things that are Caesarina's,' said Birkin, turning aside. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Therefore I want to get him, for the present moment, into any poor lodging kept by decent people where he would be admitted. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- There is the parsonage: a tidy-looking house, and I understand the clergyman and his wife are very decent people. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- I trust, sir,' rejoined Mrs. Sparsit, with decent resignation, 'it is not necessary that you should do anything of that kind. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- What a character for anybody with decent connections to show himself in! George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- It was a very small establishment, wherein a decent woman sat behind the counter working at her needle. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- It would not have been decent to go away, because he had been dining with other guests, and had just taken tea. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Green might have any decent time; but pay? William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- And I know full well any man who wishes to live in decent comfort with me as a husband must be able to control me. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Respectable families would be more apt to buy you, if they saw you looked plain and decent, as if you wasn't trying to look handsome. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- A very decent shot, and there is not a bolder rider in England. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- Modern countries especially are waking up to the necessity of good roads, not only as a necessary means of transportation, but as a pre-requisite to decent civilisation in all respects. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- And I am not a model clergyman--only a decent makeshift. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Can't ye be decent when white folks comes to see ye? Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- A decent elderly woman opened the gate to me, and at once annihilated all the hopes I had built on securing the assistance of Sergeant Cuff. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- It was borne in the latter with decent philosophy. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- You know she'll let him do anything but spend money on his friends: the only reason she's decent to me now is that she knows I'm not hard up. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- They are universally despised,--never received into any decent society. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Have you anything decent, Jo? Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Entering the schoolroom, she inclined her head with a decent obeisance, as had been her wont in former times. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- If the world were going to remain frigidly set after next year, we might well thank our stars if we blundered into a few decent solutions right away. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- She may tear it tonight, and that will be a good excuse for offering a decent one. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Well, the carriage is waiting, and the crowd are now off, so that one can walk out in a decent and Christian manner, and not be pushed and shoved. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Typist: Lycurgus