decencies
Britishplural noun
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those things that are considered necessary for a decent life
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standards of behaviour considered correct by polite society; proprieties
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.
By refusing to recognize the virtues of others, or even to observe the ordinary decencies, he succeeds only in diminishing himself.
From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 28, 2018
And who is responsible for not enforcing those decencies?
From Washington Post • Jan. 24, 2018
Ebola is a terrible disease that is taking a horrendous toll on countries already devastated by war and decencies of corruption and poverty.
From New York Times • Sep. 12, 2014
We don’t like sanctimony, nor do we like meeting people who think they are too good to observe the proprieties of common decencies.
From Time • Feb. 2, 2012
Once a human being is dead there are people enough to provide the last decencies; perhaps it is so because only then can there be no question of further or recurring assistance being sought.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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.
