comport

verb com·port \ kəm-ˈpȯrt \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of comport

intransitive verb

: to be fitting : accord

actions that comport with policy

transitive verb

: behave; especially : to behave in a manner conformable to what is right, proper, or expected

comported himself well in the crisis

—

comportment

play \kəm-ˈpȯrt-mənt\ noun

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Examples of comport in a Sentence

an outfit that most definitely does not comport with the company's guidelines for dress-down days
the grieving relatives comported themselves with grace and dignity during that difficult time

Recent Examples of comport from the Web

Almost the way his actions -- just the way he's comported himself.

— NBC News, "Meet the Press - March 11, 2018," 11 Mar. 2018
Milford City Council initiated the rezoning procedure before the site was sold to ensure a residential zoning that comports with its long-term plans for the area and is in keeping with the residential neighborhood around it.

— jeanne houck, Cincinnati.com, "Homebuilder eyeing former Milford South Elementary site," 2 Apr. 2018
That theory doesn’t comport with the facts, then or now.

— stephen moore, WSJ, "Who’s Afraid of Higher Wages?," 12 Mar. 2018
This model pulled emotions into an ever-evolving web that comports far better with the contemporary idea of history.

— david van biema, Time, "The Way People Experience Emotion Evolves Over Time. Recognizing That Fact Has Changed Our Understanding of the Past," 19 Mar. 2018
Modesto emphasized social mobility, and gave Andrew a copy of Amy Vanderbilt’s etiquette primer to teach him how to comport himself in order to gain an edge in society.

— refinery29.com, "Everything We Know About Andrew Cunanan's Childhood," 15 Mar. 2018
What Tsai means is that Chinese society—and by extension, Chinese cities—will run more smoothly once citizens have internalized the idea of an ever-watchful state and learned to comport themselves accordingly.

— adam greenfield, The Atlantic, "China's Dystopian Tech Could Be Contagious," 14 Feb. 2018
Your stupidity is eclipsed by your hatred for all that does not comport with your narrative.

— joseph a. gambardello, Philly.com, "3 Camden police officers removed from duty over alleged assault caught on video," 27 Feb. 2018
In this case, the destruction of confidence that the game of politics was on the level or that people with respected titles, like president or senator or lawyer or anchorman, were necessarily comporting themselves in respectable or responsible ways.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "This Is the 20th Anniversary of Catastrophically Bad Journalism," 23 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'comport.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

comport and Behavior

With its prefix com-, "with", the Latin word comportare meant "to bring together". So it's easy to see how in English we could say that a college's policy comports with state law, or that a visit to your parents doesn't comport with your other weekend plans, or that your aunt and uncle won't listen to anything on TV that doesn't comport with their prejudices. The "behave" sense of the word comes through French, and its essential meaning is how a person "carries" him- or herself. So you may say, for instance, that your 17-year-old comported himself well (for once!) at the wedding reception, or that an ambassador always comports herself with dignity—that is, her comportment is always dignified—or that your class comported itself in a way that was a credit to the school.

Origin and Etymology of comport

Middle French comporter to bear, conduct, from Latin comportare to bring together, from com- + portare to carry — more at fare

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First Known Use: 1589

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

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comport Synonyms

Phrases

fall in with;

Synonym Discussion of comport

behave, conduct, deport, comport, acquit mean to act or to cause oneself to do something in a certain way. behave may apply to the meeting of a standard of what is proper or decorous.

- the children behaved in church

conduct implies action or behavior that shows the extent of one's power to control or direct oneself.

- conducted herself with unfailing good humor

deport implies behaving so as to show how far one conforms to conventional rules of discipline or propriety.

- the hero deported himself in accord with the code of chivalry

comport suggests conduct measured by what is expected or required of one in a certain class or position.

- comported themselves as gentlemen

acquit applies to action under stress that deserves praise or meets expectations.

- acquitted herself well in her first assignment

comport

noun com·port \ ˈkäm-ˌpȯrt \

Definition of comport

: compote 2

First Known Use of comport

1771

in the meaning defined above

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comport

Definition of comport

comportment

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comport and Behavior

Origin and Etymology of comport

comport Synonyms

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Synonym Discussion of comport

comport

Definition of comport

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