Synonyms for decent
- adjective
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Respectable
respectable, tolerable, reasonable, mediocre, acceptable, not bad, passable, satisfactory, middling, unexceptional, average, all right, moderate, regular, suitable, ordinary
2. Proper — having a suitable conformity to basic moral standards; showing integrity, fairness, or other characteristics…
good, proper, modest, decorous, seemly, fit, pure, pyore US, befitting, righteous, virtuous, moral, delicate, becoming, chaste, honest dated
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Having a suitable conformity to basic moral standards; showing integrity, fairness, or other characteristics associated with moral uprightness.
Zohran Mamdani is a decent man for not accepting the pay rise he’s entitled to, as he wishes to see that money go to the poor of New York.
- adj. 2
Appropriate; suitable for the circumstances.
Choose the right word
That is decent which does not offend modesty or propriety. The dignity and gravity of a patriarch would not be becoming to a child; at a funeral lively, cheery sociability would not be decorous, while noisy hilarity would not be decent; sumptuous display would not be suitable for a poor person.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- reasonable If the price is reasonable, I want to buy the car.
- respectable I know some most respectable people in the town.
- mediocre Don't excuse yourself into living a mediocre life.
- tolerable All sorrows should be tolerable, even if they are great.
- modest I have modest tastes. Wealth does not interest me.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| decent | rising | |
| reasonable | falling | |
| respectable | steady | |
| mediocre | steady | |
| tolerable | falling | |
| modest | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- fit1
- 4 letters
- good1, nice1, pure1
- 5 letters
- moral2, pyore
- 6 letters
- proper2, honest2, modest2, chaste1, seemly
- 7 letters
- average3, regular3, fitting2
- 8 letters
- becoming3, suitable3, ordinary4, moderate3, delicate3, mediocre4, virtuous3, passable3, middling3, decorous3
- 9 letters
- righteous2, tolerable4, befitting3
- 10 letters
- reasonable4, acceptable4
- 11 letters
- respectable4
- 12 letters
- satisfactory4
- 13 letters
- unexceptional
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (moral2 = 2 syllables).