decent
/ˈdi.sənt/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.40 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Appropriate; suitable for the circumstances.
adj
Having a suitable conformity to basic moral standards; showing integrity, fairness, or other characteristics associated with moral uprightness.
adj
Fair; acceptable; okay.
adj
adj
Conforming to perceived standards of good taste.
noun
Misspelling of descent.
Example Sentences
- "Zohran Mamdani is a decent man for not accepting the pay rise he’s entitled to, as he wishes to see that money go to the poor of New York."
- "Are you decent? May I come in?"
- "He's a decent saxophonist, but probably not good enough to make a career of it."
- "A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe."
- "And ‘blubbing’ . . . Blubbing went out with ‘decent’ and ‘ripping’. Mind you, not a bad new language to start up. 1920s schoolboy slang could be due for a revival."
- "I'm all for opening new stations (Transport Scotland is planning another at East Linton, about halfway between Drem and Dunbar), but they are useless without a decent service."
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French décent, or its source, Latin decēns, present participle of decet (“it is fitting or suitable”), from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- (“to take, accept, to receive, greet, be suitable”) (compare Ancient Greek δοκέω (dokéō, “to appear, seem, think”), δέχομαι (dékhomai, “to accept”); Sanskrit दशस्यति (daśasyáti, “shows honor, is gracious”), दाशति (dāśati, “makes offerings, bestows”)). Meaning ‘kind, pleasant’ is from 1902.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *deḱ-, decēns
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdi.sənt/
- British English: /ˈdiː.sənt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more decent (comparative)
most decent (superlative)