propriety
Americannoun
plural
proprieties-
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.
-
Obsolete. a property.
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Obsolete. a peculiarity or characteristic of something.
noun
-
the quality or state of being appropriate or fitting
-
conformity to the prevailing standard of behaviour, speech, etc
-
(plural) the standards of behaviour considered correct by polite society
Related Words
See etiquette.
Other Word Forms
- nonpropriety noun
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
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.
For the sake of propriety — Paley was one of the 20th century’s most powerful media paschas — his indiscretions were kept quiet.
From Los Angeles Times
“For a young woman like you, that means maintaining impeccable propriety. Or at least protecting what can be salvaged.”
From Literature
For the SNP, Flynn said the House of Lords Appointments Commission explained to him that the vetting process includes them providing "confidential advice to the prime minister on the propriety of a potential nominee".
From BBC
Roth was guided by what the critic Paul Goldberger, in his foreword to this book, calls “a strong knowledge not only of architectural history, but of urban propriety.”
Swinney said that rule was introduced to "set the highest standard of propriety and integrity".
From BBC
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.
