Proper
['prɒpə] or ['prɑpɚ]
Definition
(adj.) appropriate for a condition or purpose or occasion or a person's character, needs; 'everything in its proper place'; 'the right man for the job'; 'she is not suitable for the position' .
(adj.) marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness; 'proper medical treatment'; 'proper manners' .
(adj.) having all the qualities typical of the thing specified; 'wanted a proper dinner; not just a snack'; 'he finally has a proper job' .
(adj.) limited to the thing specified; 'the city proper'; 'his claim is connected with the deed proper' .
Typed by Alice--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Belonging to one; one's own; individual.
(a.) Belonging to the natural or essential constitution; peculiar; not common; particular; as, every animal has his proper instincts and appetites.
(a.) Befitting one's nature, qualities, etc.; suitable in all respect; appropriate; right; fit; decent; as, water is the proper element for fish; a proper dress.
(a.) Becoming in appearance; well formed; handsome.
(a.) Pertaining to one of a species, but not common to the whole; not appellative; -- opposed to common; as, a proper name; Dublin is the proper name of a city.
(a.) Rightly so called; strictly considered; as, Greece proper; the garden proper.
(a.) Represented in its natural color; -- said of any object used as a charge.
(adv.) Properly; hence, to a great degree; very; as, proper good.
Checked by Letitia
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Particular, peculiar, individual, special, specific, not common.[2]. Fit, fitting, befitting, suitable, appropriate, meet, seemly, convenient, adapted, becoming, right, legitimate.
Inputed by Elisabeth
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Peculiar, appertinent, personal, own, constitutional, special, befitting,adapted, suited, suitable, appropriate, just, fair, equitable, right, decent,becoming, fit
ANT:Common, inappertinent, alien, universal, nonspecial, unbefitting, unadapted,unsuited, unsuitable, inappropriate, wrong, indecent, unbecoming, improper
Typed by Angelo
Definition
adj. one's own: fitted for a person's nature or qualities: peculiar: belonging to only one of a species (as a name): natural: suitable: correct: just: right: becoming: (B.) comely pretty: in liturgics used only on a particular day or festival.—n. something set apart for a special use.—adv. (coll.) very exceedingly.—adv. Prop′erly in a proper manner: (coll.) entirely extremely.—n. Prop′erness.—Properly speaking in the strict sense: speaking without qualification.
Checker: Phyllis
Examples
- I suppose it's smarter to use these rocks and build a good blind for this gun than to make a proper emplacement for it. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- Much depends on the proper consistency of the ink. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- A very proper compliment! Jane Austen. Emma.
- The important elevations within the line had all been carefully fortified and supplied with a proper armament. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Daylight developing soon followed, and the dark room, as far as the kodaker was concerned, took its proper place as a relic of the dark ages. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- For the men in green: it was a proper moonlight evening for them. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- She was sensible that you had never received any proper acknowledgment from herself. Jane Austen. Emma.
- How very pleasing and proper of him! Jane Austen. Emma.
- Thus they obtained air and proper ventilation without fear of lessening the safety of their cabin. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- A few men, philosophers or lovers of wisdom--or truth--may by study learn at least in outline the proper patterns of true existence. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- She begged my pardon with proper submission. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I will observe your very proper request. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Each plate section has a rod to connect it with its proper terminal. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Agriculture is the proper business of all new colonies; a business which the cheapness of land renders more advantageous than any other. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- And surely these odious tradesmen might be made to understand that, and to wait, if you would make proper representations to them. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Nothing could be more natural and proper than for my Professor to open a school, and for me to prefer to reside in my own estate. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- That is all very proper and civil, I am sure, said Mrs. Bennet, and I dare say she is a very agreeable woman. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- Only those who know of the suffering endured in former times can fully appreciate the decrease in pain brought about by the proper use of narcotics. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- In all typewriters accurate location of the impression is essential to proper alignment of the letters, and proper alignment is the _sine qua non_ of typewriting. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Having now asserted my independence in a proper manner, I may come to how do you find yourself, and I hope you're pretty well. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- You use the proper term, sir. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Down through these, from the third floor, come the wheels, with the tires mounted and inflated to the proper pressure. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- It isn't proper to be gadding about so late with a rattlepated boy like. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Such levity is proper enough in the provinces, we make no doubt, but it ill suits the dignity of the metropolis. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The inferior ranks of people must, in that country, suffer patiently the usage which their superiors think proper to give them. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Don't say my John, it isn't proper or true, but Meg's voice lingered over the words as if they sounded pleasant to her. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- She was acknowledged to be quite right, and the two parts being accepted accordingly, she was certain of the proper Frederick. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- And proper little terrors they were, little fiends--that Gerald was a demon if ever there was one, a proper demon, ay, at six months old. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- He was careful to cut the sticks of the proper width, so that the letters would not be too far apart when they should be used for printing. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- In the illustration of the building I have not placed the proper number of studding, but the reader can rest assured that once in 16 inches is not too often. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
Checker: Phyllis