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as in manner
proprieties plural personal conduct or behavior as evaluated by an accepted standard of appropriateness for a social or professional setting an etiquette columnist who insists that traditional proprieties are necessary in order to maintain a civil society

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of propriety Women entered public life, and standards of decorum shifted to accommodate them, though certainly not to include them—gender segregation became a paramount concern, according to Baldwin, for preserving the modesty and propriety of women. The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 22 Jan. 2025 Some critics deemed the set an act of heresy, an affront to folk music propriety. The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 16 Jan. 2025 Expect trendy shoes from Good American like a denim pointed-toe slingback or even a ballet flat in crocodile, largely treated with their propriety On Cloud sole designed for comfort. Mikelle Street, Them, 26 Nov. 2024 From professional oversight to social propriety, the pedometer served as a subtle but powerful mediator, quantifying life in ways that both reflected and challenged evolving norms of individual accountability and public transparency. Jacqueline D. Wernimont, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for propriety
Recent Examples of Synonyms for propriety
Noun
  • Newsweek spoke to etiquette expert Jo Hayes about the colleague's behavior, and what the original poster (OP) should do next.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025
  • What is the proper etiquette when addressing a salesperson or clerk in a retail setting?
    Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The manner in which Grant died will be determined by a medical examiner.
    Landon Mion, Fox News, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Officials have not released the inmate's preliminary cause and manner of death.
    Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Wittingly or not, nobody embodied this behavior better than Musk, who has spent the past decade operating with a healthy contempt for institutions, any semblance of decorum, and the law.
    Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 28 Feb. 2025
  • Disorder again ensued at the Jan. 28 commissioners court meeting, as the court approved a new decorum policy amid opposition from Democrats on the court and several Tarrant County residents who spoke out on the change.
    Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The Stroud-Young situation prompted some to reconsider the validity of these cognitive exams.
    Cale Clinton, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
  • The simple passing of time adds value and validity to Framework’s approach, and today’s news drives that home.
    Jason Evangelho, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Ridley Scott gave Gladiator the kind of scope and muscularity appropriate for a swords-and-sandals epic, and Crowe’s rugged decency made for an inspiring underdog.
    Will Leitch, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
  • Thoughtful and decent people learn to keep their thoughts and their decency to themselves, or limited to a very small circle of friends.
    Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • There is the argument from morality: The gods will punish you for these bad deeds.
    Shadi Bartsch, Chicago Tribune, 6 Mar. 2025
  • The intimacy that Mundhra finds in the final few minutes of this film feel like a reward for a project taken on with a rigorous sense of morality. 29.
    Joe Reid, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Yet there’s a serious question here, too, raised in the play and heightened in this adaptation, about the relevance and role of art — whether there’s any point at all — when the world is falling apart.
    Demetrios Matheou, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Fast forward a century, and its relevance is hotly debated.
    Matt Rozo, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Navigating Political and Ethical Considerations of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve By embracing bitcoin as a vital national reserve asset, the United States positions itself at the forefront of economic innovation, fiscal prudence, and visionary thinking.
    Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Carroll picked contractors to do the work and agreed on a price without waiting for competing bids, authorized them to pave at night when rain forecasts would normally have halted work, and generally gave speed priority over the usual prudence.
    Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Propriety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/propriety. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.

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