ˈdēs ə nt adjective
( sometimes -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin decent-, decens, present participle of decēre to be fitting, be proper; akin to Latin decus honor, ornament, dignus worthy, Greek dokein to seem good, seem, think, Sanskrit daśasyati he worships, favors
1. archaic
a. : appropriate to circumstances or to social status
the funeral … was a decent solemnity — John Evelyn
b. : having tasteful appearance or proportions : well-formed : shapely
her decent hand — Alexander Pope
2. : marked by acceptance as socially unobjectionable, proper, or suitable : not questionable or censurable : conforming to standards of propriety, etiquette, good taste, or morality
forsake a decent craft that he may pursue the gentilities of a profession — George Eliot
his decent reticence is branded as hypocrisy — W.S.Maugham
3.
a. : free of anything improper or of suggestions of the immodest, lustful, or obscene : indicative or suggestive of virtue or propriety
speech in this circle, if not always decent , never became lewd — George Santayana
b. : not nude : clothed with adequate modesty
one of her shoulder straps slipped down, leaving her perfectly decent by American standards — Santha Rama Rau
4. : fairly good but not excellent : up to reasonable expectations : adequate , sufficient , satisfactory
in search of a decent meal — Robert Shaplen
vile insanitary barracks to serve as substitutes for decent human shelter — Lewis Mumford
: not poor, scant, questionable, or marginal
only a single fortress put up a decent resistance — Robert Graves
5. : marked by a combination of goodwill, sincerity, tolerance, uprightness, generosity, or fairness : not cruel, repressive, or vindictive
the decent people, the people on the side of the angels, the kind, reasonable, fair-minded people — Gladys B. Stern
Synonyms: see chaste , decorous