decent
conforming to the recognized standard of propriety, good taste, modesty, etc., as in behavior or speech.
respectable; worthy: a decent family.
adequate; fair; passable: a decent wage.
kind; obliging; generous: It was very decent of him to lend me his watch.
suitable; appropriate: She did not have a decent coat for the cold winter.
of fairly attractive appearance: a decent face.
Informal. wearing enough clothing to appear in public.
Slang. great; wonderful.
Origin of decent
1Other words for decent
Opposites for decent
Other words from decent
- de·cent·ly, adverb
- de·cent·ness, noun
Words that may be confused with decent
Words Nearby decent
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use decent in a sentence
One rice cake lover suggested to the Chicago Tribune that rice cakes topped with beans were better than tacos, a statement that suggests that person had never had a decent taco.
The Rise and Fall of the Rice Cake, America’s One-Time Favorite Health Snack | Brenna Houck | September 17, 2020 | EaterAny person who can still support this man is not a decent human being, period.
Only after the migrants settled and had years to claw back a decent life did some towns bounce back stronger.
Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration | by Abrahm Lustgarten, photography by Meridith Kohut | September 15, 2020 | ProPublicaIn a series where Miami was comfortable letting anyone other than Giannis do that, it would have mattered a decent amount, I’d think.
We Could Have Watched Raptors-Celtics Game 6 All Day | Chris Herring (chris.herring@fivethirtyeight.com) | September 10, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightThe 11-megapixel shooter is decent enough for selfies, but taking a regular picture requires folding the Surface Duo with both screens facing out, and correctly pointing the side with the camera at the desired subject.
Review of the Microsoft Surface Duo folding phone: Very pretty but just how useful is it? | Aaron Pressman | September 10, 2020 | Fortune
Almost everyone there will be a decent person and treat you well.
Abramoff’s Advice for Virginia’s New Jailhouse Guv | Tim Mak, Jackie Kucinich | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTShe assured me he was a decent human being and the love of her life.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind | Brin-Jonathan Butler | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI vividly recall, that day and the weeks afterward, people groping for a decent way forward.
I finish a decent game, type my initials, and decide to call it quits.
The problem is that being a decent person in an indecent situation is not enough, even though it may also be all you can do.
If I could catch Laura's eye—but I suppose it would hardly be decent to go just yet.
Both had appealed to Napoleon; consequently there was a decent pretext for sending a French army into Spain.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonGood place to lop about, y' know; a decent place to sit, and a few books and cards and that sort of thing.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairNever smoke when the pores are open: they absorb, and you are unfit for decent society.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.For at least ten years previous to 1901, San Francisco had enjoyed a period of not only decent but honorable government.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
British Dictionary definitions for decent
/ (ˈdiːsənt) /
polite or respectable: a decent family
proper and suitable; fitting: a decent burial
conforming to conventions of sexual behaviour; not indecent
free of oaths, blasphemy, etc: decent language
good or adequate: a decent wage
informal kind; generous: he was pretty decent to me
informal sufficiently clothed to be seen by other people: are you decent?
Origin of decent
1Derived forms of decent
- decently, adverb
- decentness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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