Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

decent

 
Dictionary: de·cent   ('sənt) pronunciation
adj.
  1. Characterized by conformity to recognized standards of propriety or morality.
  2. Free from indelicacy; modest.
  3. Meeting accepted standards; adequate: a decent salary.
    1. Morally upright; respectable.
    2. Kind or obliging: very decent of them to lend you money.
  4. Informal. Properly or modestly dressed.

[Latin decēns, decent-, present participle of decēre, to be fitting.]

decently de'cent·ly adv.
decentness de'cent·ness n.

Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
Thesaurus: decent
Top

adjective

  1. Conforming to accepted standards: becoming, befitting, comely, comme il faut, correct, decorous, de rigueur, nice, proper, respectable, right, seemly. See courtesy/discourtesy.
  2. Not lewd or obscene: clean, modest, wholesome. See decent/indecent.
  3. Being what is needed without being in excess: adequate, comfortable, competent, enough, satisfactory, sufficient. See excess/insufficiency/enough.
  4. Of moderately good quality but less than excellent: acceptable, adequate, all right, average, common, fair, fairish, goodish, moderate, passable, respectable, satisfactory, sufficient, tolerable. Informal OK, tidy. See good/bad.
  5. Morally beyond reproach, especially in sexual conduct: chaste, modest, nice, pure, virgin, virginal, virtuous. See good/bad, restraint/unrestraint, sex/asexual.
  6. Proper in appearance: presentable, respectable. See good/bad, usual/unusual.

Antonyms: decent
Top

adj

Definition: kind, generous
Antonyms: disobliging, indecent, unaccommodating, ungenerous, unkind

adj

Definition: respectable, appropriate
Antonyms: inappropriate, indecent, poor, unrespectable, unsuitable, unsuited

adj

Definition: sufficient, tolerable
Antonyms: indecent, insufficient, intolerable, unsuitable


Word Tutor: decent
Top
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: In accordance with the standards of proper behavior, speech, manners, or dress; respectable.

pronunciation The decent thing to do when you sneeze is to cover your mouth.

Tutor's tip: A "decent" (respectable, honest) person with a "descent" (lineage or ancestry) from a good family will "dissent" (disagree) from mob rule, for fear the situation will "descend" (to move to a lower place) into chaos.

Translations: Decent
Top

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - velopdragen, anstændig, pæn, respektabel, tilfredsstillende

idioms:

  • do the decent thing    gøre det rigtige

Nederlands (Dutch)
fatsoenlijk, oorbaar, sympathiek, behoorlijk, vrijgevig

Français (French)
adj. - honnête, bien, décent, bienséant, bon, brave, (US) formidable, terrible

idioms:

  • do the decent thing    agir comme il se doit

Deutsch (German)
adj. - anständig, sittsam

idioms:

  • do the decent thing    sich anständig benehmen, das Richtige tun, das einzig Richtige tun

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - ευπρεπής, κόσμιος, παραδεκτός (κν. καλούτσικος, υποφερτός), ντυμένος, παρουσιάσιμος, (Βρετ., καθομ.) υποχρεωτικός, εκδουλευτικός

idioms:

  • do the decent thing    κάνω το σωστό, το αξιοπρεπές

Italiano (Italian)
decente

idioms:

  • do the decent thing    fare ciò che richiede la decenza

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - decente

idioms:

  • do the decent thing    fazer a coisa certa

Русский (Russian)
достойный

idioms:

  • do the decent thing    сделать то, что следует

Español (Spanish)
adj. - decente, decoroso, razonable, formal, respetable, generoso, apropiado, atractivo, usando ropa suficiente, fantástico

idioms:

  • do the decent thing    hacer lo correcto o lo que corresponde

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - passande, anständig, hygglig, snäll

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
有分寸的, 大方的, 得体的

idioms:

  • do the decent thing    做应该做的事情

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 有分寸的, 大方的, 得體的

idioms:

  • do the decent thing    做應該做的事情

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 착실한, 꽤 괜찮은, 인자한

idioms:

  • do the decent thing    예의 바른 행동을 하다

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - きちんとした, 礼儀正しい, 上品な, 人並みの, 親切な, 感じのよい, 家柄のすぐれた, かなりの, 適当な

idioms:

  • do the decent thing    適当な事を言う

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) محتشم ( الملبس), مهذب, مرضي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮הגון, צנוע, ראוי, מכובד, נאה‬


 
 
Learn More
louche
blue
shabby

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Antonyms. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved.
eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more