decent
adjUK /ˈdiː.sənt/ · CA, US /ˈdi.sənt/
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.
7 senses
Appropriate; suitable for the circumstances.
Of a person Having a suitable conformity to basic moral standards; showing integrity, fairness, or other characteristics associated with moral uprightness.
Informal Sufficiently clothed or dressed to be seen.
- Are you decent? May I come in?
Fair; acceptable; okay.
- 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.1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
2 more examples
- 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.[1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 1, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section II, page 24:
- 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.2021 June 30, Philip Haigh, “Regional trains squeezed as ECML congestion heads north”, in RAIL, number 934, page 53:
Significant; substantial.
- There are a decent number of references out there, if you can find them.
Conforming to perceived standards of good taste.
- I had a cup of tea - the last decent cup of tea for many days; and in a room that most soothingly looked just as you would expect a lady’s drawing-room to look, we had a long quiet chat by the fireside.1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 201:
Obsolete Comely; shapely; well-formed.
- And ſable ſtole of Cipres Lawn, Over thy decent ſhoulders drawn.a. 1645, John Milton, “Il Penseroso”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC, page 38:
- Synonyms
- good, moral, satisfactory
- Antonyms
- bad, immoral, indecent, underdressed, inadequate, poor, unsatisfactory
- Derived terms
- decentish, decentness, do the decent thing, half-decent, halfway decent, jolly D, semidecent, undecent