propriety
conformity to established standards of good or proper behavior or manners.
appropriateness to the purpose or circumstances; suitability.
rightness or justness.
the proprieties, the conventional standards of proper behavior; manners: to observe the proprieties.
Obsolete. a property.
Obsolete. a peculiarity or characteristic of something.
Origin of propriety
1synonym study For propriety
Other words for propriety
Other words from propriety
- non·pro·pri·e·ty, noun, plural non·pro·pri·e·ties.
Words that may be confused with propriety
- probity, propriety
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use propriety in a sentence
The middle class is furious, or at least as furious as middle-class proprieties allow.
P.J. O’Rourke on Grabbing the Keys to Happiness | P. J. O’Rourke | January 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI dare not think how the theme might have been treated in French hands, but Mr. Harcourt is very firm about the proprieties.
The proprieties of society prevent me from repeating what has come to my ears from the lips or pens of distinguished clerics.
Ancient Faiths And Modern | Thomas InmanThe proprieties did not matter with this bather, who p. 40soon learnt how to splash us.
Castellinaria | Henry Festing JonesShe affected outr fashion in dress, and was always ready to lead a revolt against established proprieties.
The Life of Thomas Wanless, Peasant | Alexander Johnstone Wilson
He had drank that day, and was not so easily managed as usual, and she had a hard task to hold him to his proprieties.
Sevenoaks | J. G. Holland
British Dictionary definitions for propriety
/ (prəˈpraɪətɪ) /
the quality or state of being appropriate or fitting
conformity to the prevailing standard of behaviour, speech, etc
the proprieties (plural) the standards of behaviour considered correct by polite society
Origin of propriety
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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