decent
1 ENTRIES FOUND:
Britannica Dictionary definition of DECENT
[more decent; most decent]
1
a
:
polite, moral, and honest
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I don't understand how so decent a person could be involved with this kind of crime.
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decent, hardworking people
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He is a decent guy who would help anyone in need.
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You need to do the decent thing and tell her what happened.
b
somewhat informal
:
showing kindness
:
seeming to care about the feelings or problems of other people
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It's really decent [=nice, thoughtful] of them to help us like this.
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I apologized for the damage to his car, and he was pretty decent [=understanding] about it.
2
:
good enough but not the best
:
adequate or acceptable
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She's a decent [=fairly good] tennis player.
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They can't afford decent [=adequate] housing.
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Are there any decent schools in that area?
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They served us a decent (enough) meal.
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I've got to get some decent clothes.
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He makes a decent living. = He has a job making/earning decent money.
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a halfway decent [=pretty good] movie
3
:
appropriate or suitable
—
opposite indecent
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I know you've got a lot to do, but try to get to bed at a decent hour. [=at a time that is not too late at night]
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We were asked to wait a decent interval [=wait for an appropriate amount of time] before making the announcement.
4
:
not using language that offends people
:
not including behavior or ideas that people commonly find offensive
—
opposite indecent
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Please keep your jokes decent—there are children in the room.
5
informal
:
wearing enough clothes
:
wearing clothes that cover enough of your body so that you are not embarrassed if someone sees you
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I can't come to the door right now—I'm not decent. Wait a minute, OK?
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Can I come in? Are you decent?
— decently
adverb-
He's fair and always treats everyone decently.
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The book is selling decently [=fairly well; well enough] but we were expecting it to sell better.
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decently dressed
