Choose the Right Synonym for comport

Verb

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 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.

Examples of comport in a Sentence

Verb 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 on the Web: Verb The Ohio Supreme Court -- led by a courageous Republican chief justice -- has rejected multiple maps for failing to comport with the new nonpartisan criteria. — David Daley, CNN, 22 Apr. 2022 All this amounts to an unprecedented assault on narratives that don’t comport with the message Moscow desperately wants to convey to the world, both about the new war and about its mounting internal dysfunction. — Ilan Berman, National Review, 3 Apr. 2022 The activism can include pushing climate goals at shareholder meetings and voting against directors and proposals that don’t comport with the agenda, even if other decisions may benefit investors. — Mark Brnovich, WSJ, 6 Mar. 2022 These are clear, consistent positions that comport with tenets of orthodox Christianity — as well as with Judaism and Islam. — David Harsanyi, National Review, 22 Feb. 2022 The fact that Biden received a small bump would comport with previous studies on the rally-around-the-flag effect. — Harry Enten, CNN, 13 Mar. 2022 In Anker’s conception, freedom would comport seamlessly with the progressive Left’s ambitions. — David Harsanyi, National Review, 14 Feb. 2022 That theory seems to comport with the way Felton framed the project in his Business Builders interview. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 2 Feb. 2022 Rose found that investment advisers appear to be reluctant to change their behavior to comport with the law. — Ike Brannon, Forbes, 5 May 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun No more than acceptance of subordination is an argument in favor of patriarchy or slavery can shunting political choice away from openly political forums comport with our ideal of collective self-government (let alone be required by it). — Ryan D. Doerfler, The New Republic, 13 Oct. 2021 Susanka's ideas comport with like-minded design enthusiasts gleaned from their Uruguayan backgrounds. — Rohan Preston, Star Tribune, 30 July 2021 But reconciliation also limits what provisions lawmakers can approve, and the Senate’s nonpartisan parliamentarian found that raising the minimum wage didn’t comport with reconciliation’s rules. — Eric Morath, WSJ, 6 Mar. 2021 As an abattoir of reason, the ad at least comports with the spirit of this bailout. — Washington Post, 4 Sep. 2019 Trump has authored Twitter posts before about sanctions that didn’t comport with U.S. policy and that aides struggled to explain. — The Washington Post, The Mercury News, 21 June 2019 Trump has authored Twitter posts before about sanctions that didn’t comport with U.S. policy and that aides struggled to explain. — The Washington Post, The Mercury News, 21 June 2019 Does that comport with your own experience with the violent crime increase, sheriff? — Fox News, 31 May 2018 See More

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.