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Webster 1913 Edition


Decorous

Dec′or-ous

(dĕk′ō̍r-ŭs or dē̍-kō′rŭs; 277)
,
Adj.
[L.
decōrus
, fr.
decor
comeliness, beauty; akin to
decere
. See
Decent
, and cf.
Decorum
.]
Suitable to a character, or to the time, place, and occasion; marked with decorum; becoming; proper; seemly; befitting;
as, a
decorous
speech;
decorous
behavior; a
decorous
dress for a judge.
De-co′rous-ly
,
adv.
De-co′rous-ness
,
Noun.

Webster 1828 Edition


Decorous

DEC'OROUS

,
Adj.
Decent; suitable to a character, or to the time, place and occasion; becoming; proper; befitting; as a decorous speech; decorous behavior; a decorous dress for a judge.

DEC'OROUS

LY,
adv.
In a becoming manner.
DECOR'TICATE, v.t. [L. bark.] To strip off bark; to peel; to husk; to take off the exterior coat; as, to decorticate barley.
DECOR'TICATED, pp. Stripped of bark; peeled; husked.
DECOR'TICATING, ppr. Stripping off bark or the external coat; peeling.
DECORTICA'TION, n. The act of stripping off bark or husk.
DECO'RUM, n. [L. to become.]

Definition 2024


decorous

decorous

English

Adjective

decorous (comparative more decorous, superlative most decorous)

  1. Marked by proper behavior.
    • 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Chapter V, Section III
      The narrow path of truth and virtue inclines neither to the right nor left, it is a straight-forward business, and they who are earnestly pursuing their road, may bound over many decorous prejudices, without leaving modesty behind.
    • 1848, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, Chapter 61,
      There came a day when the round of decorous pleasures and solemn gaieties in which Mr. Jos Sedley’s family indulged was interrupted by an event which happens in most houses.
    • 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, chapter 43
      But who can fathom the subtleties of the human heart? Certainly not those who expect from it only decorous sentiments and normal emotions.
    • 1936, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, Part One, Chapter 1
      The green eyes in the carefully sweet face were turbulent, willful, lusty with life, distinctly at variance with her decorous demeanor.

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