respectability

Definition of respectabilitynext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of respectability The result is a finale that feels performed rather than lived, landing with respectability instead of devastation. Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 23 Apr. 2026 Besides, the involvement of lawyers, with their downtown office suites, perfumed the whole arrangement with an aroma of respectability. Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026 But not long after achieving mainstream respectability, Kelly’s career unraveled abruptly. Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 9 Apr. 2026 Shying away from criticizing government officials is ultimately just country’s spin on respectability politics. Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2026 Superfakes is about a small-time Chinatown luxury counterfeit dealer who enters a dangerous black-market underworld in order to fund a life of suburban respectability for her family. Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 18 Mar. 2026 There must be another sharp hockey mind out there capable of getting this team back to respectability, as Shanahan did, and then onto something much greater. Jonas Siegel, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026 Pacers Romario Shepherd and Jason Holder couldn't bowl West Indies to victory after batting their side to respectability. ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026 Cortina was less a pure nostalgia play than an assertion of autonomy, a statement that women in their 40s can still choose danger and ambition over quiet respectability. Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for respectability
Noun
  • This pair of novellas is about a middle-aged woman, the heroine’s sister, who comes to Tokyo intent on obtaining breast implants and a protagonist contemplating artificial insemination in a culture that doubts the procedure’s morality.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Apr. 2026
  • One that imposes a particular morality or one that imposes civil order?
    Charles F. Miller, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Though an unabashedly liberal Democrat, Hart commanded respect from lawmakers of both parties for his intellect, decency and grit.
    John T. Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Aimee Lou Wood will host next week, and is no doubt planning to send up the American SNL‘s sketch about her last year, which many thought breached decency standards.
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 25 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • In particular, popes wanted to select the church’s bishops rather than allowing nobility or a king to do so.
    Joëlle Rollo-Koster, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Lagerbielke — or more accurately, the 11th Baron Lagerbielke — is a member of the Swedish nobility and lies 254th in line to the country’s throne.
    Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • In that competition, loyalty is an expensive virtue.
    Wael Mahdi, semafor.com, 28 Apr. 2026
  • But patience can sometimes be a death knell in the playoffs, and Game 4 showed how a lack of it can be a virtue.
    Arpon Basu, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • In fairness to Simpson, who looked tentative and never got into a rhythm on a wet field, Bama’s offensive line had a bad game.
    Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Supporters say the fee would fund critical wildfire prevention efforts, while opponents are raising concerns about cost and fairness.
    Brady Halbleib, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Building a reputation for trustworthiness and fairness through transparent actions and accountability also helps reinforce one’s incorruptibility.
    Nancy Pulciano, Rolling Stone, 20 Feb. 2026
  • While critics say these changes are merely cosmetic, many ordinary Bangladeshis have been sold on the veneer of incorruptibility that comes from a theological under-pinning.
    Charlie Campbell, Time, 28 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Thank goodness Anthropic has the courage and foresight to raise the issue and hold its ground — without its pushback, these capabilities would have been handed to the government with barely a ripple in our conscientiousness and virtually no oversight.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2026
  • This reflects conscientiousness, or the tendency to plan, organize and execute systematically versus improvising and adapting in real time.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • For the early architects, food was always political and thus, so too was food justice—a direct affront to unfair systems.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 2026
  • Business leaders, cabinet members, and Supreme Court justices attended the event, which kicked off the United States’ 250th birthday celebrations.
    StyleCaster Editors, StyleCaster, 29 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Respectability.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/respectability. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.

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