decency
noun /ˈdiːsnsi/
/ˈdiːsnsi/
- [uncountable] honest, polite behaviour that follows accepted moral standards and shows respect for others
- Her behaviour showed a total lack of common decency.
- Have you no sense of decency?
- He might have had the decency to apologize.
- standards of taste and decency that we expect broadcasting companies to meet
Extra ExamplesTopics Personal qualitiesc2- Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.
- We need to restore values of decency, caring and understanding to our society.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- common
- human
- basic
- …
- have
- a sense of decency
- standards of decency
- the decencies[plural] (formal) standards of behaviour in society that people think are acceptable
- the basic decencies of civilized society
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- common
- human
- basic
- …
- have
- a sense of decency
- standards of decency
Word Originmid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘appropriateness, fitness’): from Latin decentia, from decent- ‘being fitting’, from the verb decere.