decency
Americannoun
-
decencies
plural
-
the state or quality of being decent.
-
conformity to the recognized standard of propriety, good taste, modesty, etc.
- Synonyms:
- gentility, respectability, decorum
-
decencies,
noun
-
conformity to the prevailing standards of propriety, morality, modesty, etc
-
the quality of being decent
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of decency
1560–70; < Latin decentia comeliness, decency, equivalent to decent- (stem of decēns ) fitting ( see decent) + -ia noun suffix
Explanation
The personal quality of decency is one of honesty, good manners, and respect for other people. Over time, decency has referred to manners, but today decency is mainly a strong sense of right and wrong, and a high standard of honesty. When a criminal or dictator does horrible things, people assume they have no sense of decency. When a tasteless or violent TV show becomes popular, some people wonder if society has lost its sense of decency. Asking "Have you no decency?" is a serious question, unless you're being silly and complaining about something like homework.
Vocabulary lists containing decency
Michelle Obama's Speech at the 2016 DNC
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"Ad Power," "Without Commercials," and "What's Wrong with Advertising"
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My Brother Sam is Dead
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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.
See Examples For:
In June, a criminal court in Qom reportedly found Ahmadi and eight members of her band and production team guilty of charges including "offending public decency" through the publication of "obscene and indecent material".
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
The viewers’ hunger for easy comedic affirmation of human decency seems to be bottomless, so where’s the harm in going back to the original well, only this time with female athletes?
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026
In a final confrontation, the 62-year-old Pat takes a stand for decency and her own generation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
"My wife and I believe in treating others the way that we'd like to be treated, with decency and respect," Pence, a devout Christian, told CNN.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
He at least had the decency to die and leave me the Equatorial.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
“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 are ruled by "prohibitive decencies", our passions are sublimated, we have had to learn "to press our roaring blood into quieter channels".
From The Guardian ● May 24, 2013
They could see the pro- ' cessional clerics busy about the decencies of death, and the twinkling knights standing motionless, and the people’s heads, like baskets of coconuts, round the outside of the square.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
