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Decorous Got Its Start With Etiquette
One of the earliest recorded uses of decorous 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.” This rule of thumb may be a bit outdated; like many behaviors once deemed unbecoming, public primping is unlikely to offend in modern times. Though mores shift, decorous lives on to describe timeless courtesies like polite speech, proper attire, and (ahem) covering one’s cough.
Synonyms
Examples of decorous in a Sentence
Gabe Bullard, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 July 2024
Compared to these scenes, the contemporary killer gams is downright decorous, even if the showstopping slit required to enable it in the dress Ferguson wears in Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation isn’t.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024
The politesse of reassurance may be desirable and decorous, but U.S. allies are not about to abandon their patron.
—Robert E. Kelly, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022
Among the criers were some of the least decorous people in the country.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 13 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for decorous 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'decorous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Decorous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decorous. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
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decorous
adjective
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