Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Definitions: Decorous |
DecorousAdjective1. Characterized by propriety and dignity and good taste in manners and conduct; "the tete-a-tete was decorous in the extreme". 2. According with custom or propriety; "her becoming modesty"; "comely behavior"; "it is not comme il faut for a gentleman to be constantly asking for money"; "a decent burial"; "seemly behavior". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "decorous" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1380. (references) |
Synonyms: DecorousSynonyms: becoming (adj), comely (adj), comme il faut (adj), decent (adj), seemly (adj). (additional references) |
| Antonym: indecorous (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Dueness | Fitting; correct, proper, meet, befitting, becoming, seemly; decorous; creditable, up to the mark, right as a trivet; just the thing, quite the thing; selon les r |
Purity | Adjective: pure, undefiled, modest, delicate, decent, decorous; virginibus puerisque; simon-pure; chaste, continent, virtuous, honest, Platonic. |
Respect | Adjective: respecting;Verb: respectful, deferential, decorous, reverential, obsequious, ceremonious, bareheaded, cap in hand, on one's knees; prostrate; (servile). |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Decorous |
| English words defined with "decorous": Becomed ♦ decorously. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "decorous": Crotona's Sage. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "decorous": Becomed ♦ Dedecorous ♦ indecorous. (references) |
| Author | Quotation |
Ralph Waldo Emerson | Be true to your own act and congratulate yourself if you have done something strange and extravagant to break the monotony of a decorous age. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | It is scarcely decorous, however, to speak all, even where we speak impersonally. |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | Tom looked down the line of tents and he saw Ruthie and Winfield standing in front of a tent in decorous conversation with someone inside. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Decorous" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Decorous" is used about 42 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 100% | 42 | 52,864 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
decorous | 4 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "decorous"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | si duhet (decent, happily, Pat, right, rightly), i hijshëm (becoming, charming, comely, cool, dainty, decent, delicate, delicious, distinguished, elegant, graceful, jimp, nice, personable). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | محتشم (bashful, chaste, coy, decent, demure, honest, modest, reserved, shy), لائق (becoming, comeliness, correct, decent, fit, proper, qualified, seemly, suitable), إحتشم (chaste, decent). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | скромен (abstemious, chaste, conservative, decent, demure, frugal, humble, maidenlike, maidenly, mean, modest, obscure, quakerish, quiet, retiring, shamefaced, simple, small, unambitious, unassuming, unobtrusive, unpresuming, unpretending, unpretentious), благоприличен (christian, decent, modest, proper, tasteful). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 得" (Decorum). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | korektní (above board, correct, seemly, tactful). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | مودب (Courteous, Courtly, Debonair, Housebroken, Mannerly, Nice, Respectful, Suave, Unselfish, Urbane), زینت دار, اراسته (Brisk, Decent, Natty, Politic, Prissy, Spruce, Sprucy). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | säädyllinen (decent, proper, respectable). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | convenable (decent), bienséant (decent), être décent. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | schicklich (becoming, comely, decent, decorously, fitting, fittingly, proper, seemly), anständig (above-board, becoming, comely, decent, decently, decorously, fairly, handsome, handsomely, honest, modest, modestly, perennially, proper, reputable, respectable, self-respecting, sizable, sizeable, sporting, sportingly, square, upright). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | κόσμιοσ (comely, decent, neat, proper, tidy), ευπρεπήσ (decent, seemly). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | מ ומס (civil, courteous, gentleman, mannerly, polite, suave, tactful). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | illedelmes (comely, decent, demure, mannered, proper, well-behaved, well-conducted). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | tahu adat. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | decoroso (decent, seemly), decente (chaste, decent, descreet, discreet, fitting, proper, reasonable, seemly, suitable). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | cooie (applicable, apt, befit, competent, congruent, decent, hereditary, opportune, suitable, timely), beasagh (civil, civil as person, civilized, moral, quiet-mannered, submissive). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | ecorousday decoroso (fitting, proper, seemly, suitable), decente (comely, decent, demure, honest, seemly). (various references) decent (decent, decently, decorously, modest, properly, respectable, seemly), potrivit (according, according to, adequate, ample, apposite, appropriate, apropos, apt, assorted, average, becoming, befitting, commensurate, condign, congenial, congruous, conservative, correct, corresponding, due, duly, eligible, felicitous, fit, fitting, in point, likely, middling, moderate, moderately, opportune, Pat, proper, pursuant to, right, seemly, suitable, suited, to), la locul sãu, cuviincios (becoming, decent). (various references) пристойный (proper). (various references) uljudan (courteous, genteel, well mannered), pristojan (decent, proper, respectable, seemly). (various references) decoroso (dignified, seemly). (various references) anständig (clean, decent, demure, proper, respectable, seemly). (various references) zevkli (delightful, easy, enjoyable, fun, gracious, pleasurable, select, tasteful, tasty, zestful), terbiyeli (blushing, civil-spoken, decent, mannerly, polite, proper, seasoned, well mannered, well-behaved), münasip (agreeable, apposite, congruous, meet, Pat, pertinent, proper, suitable, tailormade). (various references) що додержу" пристойності, пристойний (becoming, decent, plausible, presentable, proper, white), порядний (conventional, decent, gentlemanly, well doing, white). (various references) phải phép, lịch thiệp (tacful), đoan trang (comely, decent, decently, matronal, matronlike, matronly, respectable), đúng mực (proper, regular, well-balanced), đứng đắn; lịch sự. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | decora, decoram, decoraque, decoras, decori, decoris, decoros, decorum, decorus. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "decorous": decorously, decorousness, decorousnesses. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "decorous": indecorous. (additional references) | |
Words containing "decorous": indecorously, indecorousness, indecorousnesses. (additional references) | |
| |
"Decorous" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: decoro, decorua, decorus, decourous, decurous, delorous. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "decorous" (pronounced de"kerus) |
| 4 | -k er u s | cantankerous, rancorous. |
| 3 | -er u s | adulterous, adventurous, amorous, avarice, barbarous, boisterous, cancerous, carboniferous, carnivorous, coniferous, dangerous, fossiliferous, generous, glamorous, herbivorous, heterosporous, homosporous, humerus, humorous, insectivorous, lecherous, murderous, numerous, odorous, omnivorous, onerous, overgenerous, oviparous, ovoviviparous, phosphorous, phosphorus, ponderous, precancerous, preposterous, prosperous, rapturous, rhinoceros, rigorous, slanderous, sonorous, tetramerous, thunderous, timorous, traitorous, treacherous, unglamorous, uterus, vigorous, viviparous, vociferous. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "c-d-e-o-o-r-s-u" | |
-1 letter: coursed, scoured, sourced. | |
-2 letters: cerous, coders, cooers, course, credos, crouse, crudes, cursed, decors, douser, durocs, escudo, odours, rodeos, roosed, roscoe, roused, scored, source, soured, uredos. | |
-3 letters: ceros, coder, codes, coeds, cooed, cooer, cords, cored, cores, corse, coude, credo, crude, cruds, cruse, curds, cured, cures, curse, decor, decos, doers, doors, doser, douce, douse, druse, duces, dures, duroc, duros, ecrus, euros, odors, odour, ordos, redos, resod, rodeo, roods, roose, rosed, roues, rouse, score, scour, scrod, scudo, sucre, sudor, uredo. | |
-4 letters: cero, code, cods, coed, coos, cord, core, cors, crud, crus, cuds, cued, cues, curd, cure, curs, deco, docs, doer, does, door, dore, dors, dose, dour, duce, dues, duos, dure, duro, ecru, ecus, eros, euro, odes, odor, orcs, ordo, ores, ouds, ours, recs, redo, reds, rocs, rode, rods, roes, rood, rose, roue, rude, rued, rues, ruse, scud, sord, sore, sour, sued, suer, surd, sure, udos, urds, used, user. | |
-5 letters: cod, coo, cor, cos, cud, cue, cur, doc, doe, dor, dos, due, duo, ecu, eds, ers, ode, ods, oes, orc, ore, ors, ose, oud, our, rec, red, res, roc, rod, roe, rue, sec, ser, sod, sou, sue, udo, urd, use. | |
| Words containing the letters "c-d-e-o-o-r-s-u" | |
+1 letter: decolours, outscored. | |
+2 letters: cofounders, coproduces, decorously, indecorous, outcrossed, outscorned, overclouds, undercools. | |
+3 letters: bloodsucker, compounders, confounders, coproducers, outproduces, overfocused, supercooled, woodcutters. | |
+4 letters: bloodsuckers, computerdoms, counterposed, decorousness, discomposure, discourteous, fluoroscoped, indecorously, orchidaceous, overconsumed, overdiscount, overfocussed, overproduces, photoreduces, proctodaeums, urochordates. | |
+5 letters: counterorders, counterpoised, counterworlds, creaturehoods, deconstructor, discomposures, mispronounced, nondisclosure, outreproduces, overcredulous, overdiscounts, overdocuments, pseudomorphic, reproductions, semiconductor. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)44 65 63 6F 72 6F 75 73 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references)-.. . -.-. --- .-. --- ..- ... |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000100 01100101 01100011 01101111 01110010 01101111 01110101 01110011 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)D e c o r o u s |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0044 0065 0063 006F 0072 006F 0075 0073 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)3871698184818785 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Quotations: Familiar | 5. Quotations: Fiction 6. Usage Frequency 7. Expressions: Internet 8. Translations: Modern | 9. Translations: Ancient 10. Derivations 11. Rhymes 12. Anagrams | 13. Orthography 14. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.