comportment
Americannoun
noun
Synonym Usage
See behavior.
Etymology
Origin of comportment
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Middle French comportement; see comport 1, -ment
Explanation
Your comportment is the way you act, especially when you behave well. You might compliment a patient little boy on his comportment as he waits in line for a turn on the swings. You can use the noun comportment to describe both the way a person behaves and also the way he carries himself — his general manner. A queen's comportment is usually regal, a bit stiff, and dignified. The comportment of a bunch of little kids at an amusement park is very different. The Middle French root is comportement, "bearing or behavior," from the Latin comportare, "to bring together or collect."
Vocabulary lists containing comportment
The Nickel Boys
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White Fang
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Nickel and Dimed
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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.
Bezos attended that screening, which many of us saw as tacit acknowledgment that he was taking her lessons in character, comportment and competence to heart.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
Irene drummed into her charge the importance of manners, religion, education and comportment, which serve Vernice well as she moves into a world beyond her hometown.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
If the expansion of Ciclovía to link rich north and poor south was a test of civic comportment, it worked.
From Slate • Dec. 22, 2024
His comportment toward referees and teammates has left something to be desired for years, and it has worsened despite his pledges to rein in his emotions.
From Washington Post • Mar. 27, 2023
You think of all the films you’ve seen, Audie Murphy and Gary Cooper and the Cisco Kid, all those heroes, and you can’t help falling back on them as models of proper comportment.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
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.
