1
as in etiquette
socially acceptable behavior
the standards of basic decency demanded that they help the old lady with her groceries
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in morality
conduct that conforms to an accepted standard of right and wrong
expected all of the scouts in his troop to be models of decency
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of decency
Some feel the lines of basic human decency have eroded.
—
Annie Heilbrunn, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Aug. 2025
A lot of it is just common sense and decency.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
There’s lots of stuff within Eddie that isn’t developed enough to be Stephen, but that decency is there.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2025
Both towns are filled with lovable eccentrics, both treat community as a kind of moral center, and both ask us to consider what decency looks like at the local level.
—Arkansas Online, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for decency
Annie Heilbrunn, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Aug. 2025
A lot of it is just common sense and decency.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
There’s lots of stuff within Eddie that isn’t developed enough to be Stephen, but that decency is there.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2025
Both towns are filled with lovable eccentrics, both treat community as a kind of moral center, and both ask us to consider what decency looks like at the local level.
—Arkansas Online, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for decency
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decency
Noun
-
The story has sparked a debate about supermarket etiquette and generational behavior.—
Maria Morava,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Riding etiquette is important Many e-bikes weigh more than 50 pounds.—
Rick Barrett,
jsonline.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Continue reading … FAITH KNOCKOUT – Ben Shapiro and Bill Maher clash over morality and the Bible.—
,
FOXNews.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
On September 16, 2022, a twenty-two-year-old Kurdish woman named Mahsa Jîna Amini was killed in Tehran by the city’s morality police.—
Fatemeh Jamalpour,
Literary Hub,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Teddy was doing his own research on this, and Emory Cohen, who plays young Lester, dove deep and talked to a lot of doormen, trying to find out the history and the details and the specifics of decorum.—
Selome Hailu,
Variety,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Tennis took off in this country in the late 70s with the emergence of attitude, which replaced, or at least challenged, the old decorum.—
Thomas Swick
September 5,
Literary Hub,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Donate today to preserve the quality and integrity of local journalism.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Of course, the senators need to actually respect standards of economic expertise and integrity, but so far this has largely worked out in the history of the Fed — with both presidents and senators doing so.—
James B. Speta,
Twin Cities,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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As expected, because of propriety, Barrett didn’t discuss any current cases that have been before the Supreme Court, including the order earlier this week to lift limitations on immigration stops in Los Angeles.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
10 Sep. 2025
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That that conversation happened at all shows what Trump has done for conservative nationalists, demolishing almost any of their barriers of propriety or need for self-censorship.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Ironically, the old-school virtues (honesty, excellent service, treating people right) are the edgiest competitive strategy in the cutthroat modern market.—
Boris Kontsevoi,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
-
William Osler, who practiced and taught medicine across the English-speaking world around the turn of the twentieth century, positioned aequanimitas—equanimity—as a primary virtue for physicians.—
Rachel Pearson,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Leninism, with its Bolshevik contempt for religion and family; Frantz Fanon's poisonous doctrine that violence is not only justified but the very path to human dignity; and Islamism's contempt for the West.—
Ayaan Hirsi Ali,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Sep. 2025
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Wanjira Mathai says that her mother, esteemed Kenyan activist and 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai, taught her that environmental justice and human dignity are inseparable.—
Elisabeth Brier,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
With his dry, sarcastic wit and honesty, Barney is a notorious player on the dating scene.—
Lisa Stardust,
PEOPLE,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Ironically, the old-school virtues (honesty, excellent service, treating people right) are the edgiest competitive strategy in the cutthroat modern market.—
Boris Kontsevoi,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Decency.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decency. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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