Word
decency
Phoneticsde·cen·cy
US/ˈdisənsi/
UK/dˈiːsənsi/
Definitions
01moral/social standards
n. behaviour that is good, moral, and acceptable to other people.
n. conformity to prevailing standards of moral conduct or social propriety.
“He had the decency to admit he was wrong and apologise to the team.”
“The public was shocked by the candidate's total lack of common decency during the televised debate.”
Usage
Often used in the phrase 'have the decency to' followed by an infinitive verb.
Antonyms
02modesty
n. the quality of being polite and not showing too much of your body.
n. the quality of being modest or avoiding obscenity, particularly regarding dress or public behaviour.
“The old laws were originally written to protect public decency.”
“The committee debated whether the provocative advertisement violated standards of public decency and should be removed from billboards.”
Formal
Usage
Frequently appears in the fixed legal or formal phrase 'public decency'.
Antonyms
Etymology
From Latin decentia, from decens. Equivalent to decent + -cy. Compare French décence.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.