re·spect·able
ri-ˈspek-tə-bəl 
2
: decent or correct in character or behavior : proper
3
a
: fair in size or quantity
a respectable amount
b
: moderately good : tolerable
a respectable performance
4
: fit to be seen : presentable
respectable clothes
: a respectable person
re·spect·abil·i·ty
-ˌspektəˈbilətē
-lətē,
-i
1
a
: the quality or state of being respectable
b
: the status of being respectable : consequence
2
a
: a respectable person : respectable persons
the respectability of the town
b
: a respectable convention : decency
those little respectabilities that make group life bearable
Examples of respectable in a Sentence
Adjective
She comes from a very respectable family.
no respectable dietician would advise people to eat just one kind of food
Recent Examples on the Web
Tyler Carmona
june 10, Miami Herald, 10 June 2026
The result, according to my extensive testing, is an easy-to-use printer with respectable print quality and multicolor output capability.
—Michael Lydick, PC Magazine, 10 June 2026
Sean Wilentz, New York Times, 19 Sep. 2017
See All Example Sentences for respectable
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Adjective
His respectable rookie numbers may have signaled an upward trajectory, but the fifth-year tight end failed to record more than five catches in a season again until his return to Miami.
—Tyler Carmona
june 10, Miami Herald, 10 June 2026
The result, according to my extensive testing, is an easy-to-use printer with respectable print quality and multicolor output capability.
—Michael Lydick, PC Magazine, 10 June 2026
Noun
Shaken respectables thought the Paris Commune had crossed the Atlantic.
—Sean Wilentz, New York Times, 19 Sep. 2017
See All Example Sentences for respectable
Cite this Entry
“Respectable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/respectable. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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