decorous
/ˈdɛk(ə)rəs
/adjective
In keeping with good taste and propriety; polite and restrained: Charlotte gave David a decorous kiss...
- The flag waving was decorous, the cheering polite and the umpire was never once insulted.
- We're not just talking about a polite and decorous way to find a New Year's date in a matter of mere weeks.
- Reading this polished and sometimes decorous narrative, it is hard for the modern reader to see why it ever had such an impact.
Synonyms
proper, seemly, decent, becoming, befitting, tasteful, in good taste;
tactful, correct, appropriate, suitable, fitting, fit;
polite, well mannered, well behaved, genteel, refined, polished, well bred, dignified, respectable, courtly, civilized;
formal, reserved, modest, demure, sedate, staid, gentlemanly, ladylike;
French comme il faut
dated mannerly
humorous couth
Derivatives
decorously
/ adverb ...- The cheerful gastrointestinal surgeon whom I saw yesterday asked me when I'd like my procedures (as they are so decorously called) done.
- The election was keenly but decorously contested.
- Of course, other Canadians celebrated more decorously.
decorousness
/ noun ...- For all the decorousness of her music and songs, it's her voice that conveys the deepest sense of wonder and truly sells these songs.
- The kids sat down, and within a moment all were in a state resembling decorousness.
- He took it with him into the streets, galleries, beaches and bars he frequented, shedding the uptight decorousness that verse in the 1950s and '60s was expected to have.
Origin
Mid 17th century (in the sense 'appropriate, seemly'): from Latin decorus 'seemly' + -ous.