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.
“The connections that survive do so in compelling ways. … The depiction of the women in Jeanette and Carmen’s family is confident and layered, capturing their decencies and failings.”
From New York Times • Apr. 8, 2021
It’s all rather consoling in an era where . . . well, we shouldn’t ever take such decencies for granted.
From Washington Post • May 23, 2019
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
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
Even in the midst of war, certain decencies needed to be observed.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
