decorum
noun
de·co·rum
di-ˈkȯr-əm 
1
2
: propriety and good taste in conduct or appearance
… strict in her notions of decorum …—
Jane Austen
Jane Austen3
: orderliness
… the organization's decorum has rarely been shaken.—W. F. Longgood
W. F. Longgood4
decorums plural
: the conventions of polite behavior
… the established sobrieties and decorums of English life.—H. G. Wells
H. G. WellsExamples of decorum in a Sentence
He has no sense of decorum.
high standards of decorum are usually required when attending the opera
Recent Examples on the Web
Previous Congresses barely featured one censure, let alone four in one week, which strategists say is indicative of the breakdown in procedure and decorum in the House.
—Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 21 Nov. 2025
Additional safeguards include more security officers stationed throughout, podium rules preventing groups from crowding together and stricter enforcement of decorum to avoid disruptions.
—Tori Mason, CBS News, 18 Nov. 2025
When in the 1980s Hanai (Watanabe) suffers an attack, coughing up blood onstage as untreated diabetes takes hold of him as well as the realization that his time is up, the impulse is to cover him up with a red drape rather than pierce the onstage decorum.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 13 Nov. 2025
Others just get giddy having a green light to upend society’s rules of decorum, even for a short window of time.
—John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for decorum
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Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 21 Nov. 2025
Additional safeguards include more security officers stationed throughout, podium rules preventing groups from crowding together and stricter enforcement of decorum to avoid disruptions.
—Tori Mason, CBS News, 18 Nov. 2025
When in the 1980s Hanai (Watanabe) suffers an attack, coughing up blood onstage as untreated diabetes takes hold of him as well as the realization that his time is up, the impulse is to cover him up with a red drape rather than pierce the onstage decorum.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 13 Nov. 2025
Others just get giddy having a green light to upend society’s rules of decorum, even for a short window of time.
—John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for decorum
Cite this Entry
“Decorum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decorum. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
decorum
noun
de·co·rum
di-ˈkōr-əm
-ˈkȯr-
1
: agreement with accepted standards of conduct : proper behavior
social decorum
2
: the state or condition of being calm, orderly, and well-regulated
the decorum of the meeting
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