propriety

[ pruh-prahy-i-tee ]
See synonyms for: proprietyproprieties on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural pro·pri·e·ties.
  1. conformity to established standards of good or proper behavior or manners.

  2. appropriateness to the purpose or circumstances; suitability.

  1. rightness or justness.

  2. the proprieties, the conventional standards of proper behavior; manners: to observe the proprieties.

  3. Obsolete. a property.

  4. Obsolete. a peculiarity or characteristic of something.

Origin of propriety

1
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English propriete “ownership, something owned, one's own nature” (compare variant proprete property), from Middle French propriété, from Latin proprietāt-, stem of proprietās “peculiarity, ownership,” equivalent to propri(us) proper + -etās, variant, after vowels, of -itās -ity

synonym study For propriety

1. See etiquette.

Other words for propriety

Other words from propriety

  • non·pro·pri·e·ty, noun, plural non·pro·pri·e·ties.

Words that may be confused with propriety

Words Nearby propriety

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use propriety in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for propriety

propriety

/ (prəˈpraɪətɪ) /


nounplural -ties
  1. the quality or state of being appropriate or fitting

  2. conformity to the prevailing standard of behaviour, speech, etc

  1. the proprieties (plural) the standards of behaviour considered correct by polite society

Origin of propriety

1
C15: from Old French propriété, from Latin proprietās a peculiarity, from proprius one's own

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012