respectability
Americannoun
plural
respectabilities-
the state or quality of being respectable.
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respectable social standing, character, or reputation.
-
a respectable person or persons.
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respectabilities, things accepted as respectable.
Other Word Forms
- nonrespectability noun
- prerespectability noun
- semirespectability noun
- superrespectability noun
- unrespectability noun
Etymology
Origin of respectability
First recorded in 1775–85; respectable + -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.
In contrast to the air of respectability which greeted grieving families, Moore says the rear of Legacy's premises was like "something out of a horror movie".
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
Bakary Sambe of the Timbuktu Institute think-tank in Dakar told AFP that "Dicko is a figure who enjoys both religious respectability and popular support".
From Barron's • Jan. 14, 2026
It challenged the idea of domestic respectability, treating the house as an open-ended experiment rather than a finished object.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025
He later won election to the British Parliament, a marker of respectability.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
They had to hide their desires behind a veneer of respectability.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
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.
