properly
Americanadverb
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in a way that is appropriate to the purpose or circumstances; suitably.
Students should ensure that a current valid parking permit is properly displayed on their vehicle.
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correctly.
His recent statement gave the wrong impression and does not properly reflect where he stands on the issue.
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in a way that conforms to established standards of behavior or manners.
They usually dress very properly, but sometimes a bit daringly, hoping to start the latest new trend.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of properly
Vocabulary lists containing properly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Properly understood, every mother of two in this city is already a millionaire.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
Another said: "One of the best things I've seen today! Properly uplifting!"
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
You could launch the Properly Valued Companies ETF, which does not buy the stock of car companies that have regularly traded at a price of more than 200 times their earnings per share.
From Slate • Apr. 22, 2025
Properly understood, culture is not a passive backdrop to “real life” but an active domain where communities articulate their shared meanings.
From Salon • Apr. 13, 2025
Properly called the Öpik–Oort cloud, it is named for the Estonian astronomer Ernst Öpik, who hypothesized its existence in 1932, and for the Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, who refined the calculations eighteen years later.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
