respectable

adj, noun — 4 senses

respectable

adj

US [ɹɪˈspɛk.tə.bl̩]

Etymology From respect + -able.

1

Deserving respect.

  • His accomplishments, morals, loyalty, and stature make him a respectable person.
  • In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass. In this way all respectable burgesses, down to fifty years ago, spent their evenings.1892, Walter Besant, chapter III, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
1 more example
  • Don't you find respectable people terribly dull?1932, Jules Furthman, Shanghai Express, spoken by Hui Fei (Anna May Wong):
2

Decent; satisfactory.

  • Turn up to the interview wearing something respectable.  She plays a respectable game of chess.  He got a respectable B+ on his last exam.
3

Moderately well-to-do.

Synonyms
honorable, savory, admirable, allowable, commendable, creditable, estimable, glorious, laudable, praiseworthy, respectable, reverable, reverend, valuable, venerable, worthy
Antonyms
contemptible, despicable, disrespectable, unrespectable, unfamous
Derived terms
nonrespectable, respectableness, respectablize, semirespectable, superrespectable, ultrarespectable
Related terms
respectability, respectabilize, respectably, dignified, meedful, meritorious, revered
Hypernyms
notable

respectable

noun

Etymology From respect + -able.

1

A person who is respectable.

  • They forced their way into the meetings called by the respectables; and the respectables disappeared. It was of their own respectable good pleasure that they withdrew.1872, Thomas Cooper, The Life of Thomas Cooper, page 221:
  • The tensions between the "respectables" and the "gay spoilers"1978 February 11, Michael Bronski, “The Gayest Parade In Town”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 31, page 13:
1 more example
  • The “respectables”, then, impute to themselves an absence of such character blemishes, or stated in more positive terms, an allegiance to American mainstream morality.2014, Mitchell Duneier, Philip Kasinitz, Alexandra Murphy, The Urban Ethnography Reader, page 38:
Related terms
respectful, respective

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.