decorous

adjective dec·o·rous \ ˈde-kər-əs also di-ˈkȯr-əs \

Definition of decorous

:marked by propriety and good taste :correct

decorous conduct

Ever decorous, she periodically excuses herself to another room rather than allow a guest to witness her blowing her nose.
—Will Hermes

—

decorously

adverb

—

decorousness

noun

See decorous defined for English-language learners

See decorous defined for kids

decorous was our Word of the Day on 04/30/2016. Hear the podcast!

Examples of decorous in a Sentence

we were asked to be on our most decorous behavior at the formal event
the oppressively decorous standards of a royal court

Recent Examples of decorous from the Web

Even Britain’s Theresa May, who has worked to maintain a decorous relationship with Trump, delivered a veiled criticism of Trump’s reaction to the violence in Charlottesville.

— david a. graham, The Atlantic, "Donald Trump Is a Lame-Duck President," 17 Aug. 2017
Hard to believe, but those were more decorous times.

— chris mondics, Philly.com, "On North Korea, Trump deploys Game of Thrones rhetoric," 9 Aug. 2017
If nothing else, Tuesday’s statement proved that he cannot be muzzled by his staff or decorous diplomatic protocol.

— glenn thrush and peter baker, New York Times, "Trump’s Threat to North Korea Was Improvised," 9 Aug. 2017
On the first half of Thursday night's program, festival co-director and clarinetist Franklin Cohen led a fine performance of Weber's elegant and decorous Clarinet Quintet in B-flat, a princely work that seeks only to delight.

— special to the plain dealer, cleveland.com, "ChamberFest Cleveland leaves deep impression with Shostakovich in rare transcription (review)," 30 June 2017
Even so, a decorous calm has mostly prevailed in Britain, notwithstanding an ongoing security alert triggered by fears that other terrorists might be preparing to strike.

— jon lee anderson, The New Yorker, "After Manchester, the U.K. Weighs Security and Freedoms," 30 May 2017
But the air about the dialogue at yesterday’s White House press briefing reminded one that, quite apart from the caricature of journalists held by many, those same journalists in Washington can get too decorous.

— vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, "Is Donald Trump Following a Playbook for Dictators?," 18 Apr. 2017
But the air about the dialogue at yesterday’s White House press briefing reminded one that, quite apart from the caricature of journalists held by many, those same journalists in Washington can get too decorous.

— The Hive, "Is Donald Trump Following a Playbook for Dictators?," 18 Apr. 2017
Pressed about that, McConnell dispensed with the usual decorous wind of nonsense about procedure and declared a blunt belief in zero-sum politics.

— evan osnos, The New Yorker, "Senate Republicans Gut the Confirmation Process," 10 Jan. 2017

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

decorous Got Its Start With Etiquette

The current meaning of decorous dates from the mid-17th century. One of the word's earliest recorded uses appears in a book titled The Rules of Civility (1673): "It is not decorous to look in the Glass, to comb, brush, or do any thing of that nature to ourselves, whilst the said person be in the Room." Decorous for a time had another meaning as well—"fitting or appropriate"—but that now-obsolete sense seems to have existed for only a few decades in the 17th century. Decorous derives from the Latin word decorus, an adjective created from the noun decor, meaning "beauty" or "grace." Decor is akin to the Latin verb decēre ("to be fitting"), which is the source of our adjective decent. It is only fitting, then, that decent can be a synonym of decorous.