propriety
Americannoun
-
conformity to established standards of good or proper behavior or manners.
-
appropriateness to the purpose or circumstances; suitability.
- Synonyms:
- seemliness, fitness, aptness
-
rightness or justness.
- Synonyms:
- correctness
-
the proprieties, the conventional standards of proper behavior; manners.
to observe the proprieties.
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Obsolete. a property.
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Obsolete. a peculiarity or characteristic of something.
noun
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the quality or state of being appropriate or fitting
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conformity to the prevailing standard of behaviour, speech, etc
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(plural) the standards of behaviour considered correct by polite society
Synonym Usage
See etiquette.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of propriety
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
Explanation
Propriety is following what is socially acceptable in speech and behavior. Your little brother might offend your sense of propriety by burping loudly at the dinner table. Propriety is like the noun form of "proper" and "appropriate." It comes from the same root as the word property, in the sense of "a distinctive character or quality." The opposite of propriety is impropriety, meaning "rude or inappropriate." If you're someone who is overly concerned with propriety, your friends beg you to loosen up now and then.
Vocabulary lists containing propriety
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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.
There are two pictures in “The Farmer” section titled “Farmer Couple— Propriety and Harmony,” both from 1912; Sander incorporated into his project pictures he had taken before formally embarking on it.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026
"This has been cleared by the Propriety and Ethics team in Cabinet Office."
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2022
Propriety and protocol prevented us from exchanging a single word.
From The Guardian • Mar. 19, 2017
And how can the Radchaai reconcile their values of “Justice, Propriety, and Benefit” with their legacy of slavery and exploitation?
From Slate • Nov. 4, 2015
In the former are Miss Thompson's "Quatre Bras," Long's "Esther," and "A Question of Propriety," the latter bought off the easel, besides other good paintings.
From Six Letters From the Colonies by Seaton, R. C. (Robert Cooper)
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.
