propriety

[ pruh-prahy-i-tee ]
/ prəˈpraɪ ɪ ti /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR propriety ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural pro·pri·e·ties.

conformity to established standards of good or proper behavior or manners.
appropriateness to the purpose or circumstances; suitability.
rightness or justness.
the proprieties, the conventional standards of proper behavior; manners: to observe the proprieties.
Obsolete. a property.
Obsolete. a peculiarity or characteristic of something.

Origin of propriety

1425–75; late Middle English propriete ownership, something owned, one's own nature (compare variant proprete property) < Middle French propriété < Latin proprietās peculiarity, ownership, equivalent to propri(us) proper + -etās, variant, after vowels, of -itās -ity

SYNONYMS FOR propriety

1 decency, modesty. See etiquette.
2 aptness, fitness, seemliness.
3 correctness.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR propriety ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM propriety

non·pro·pri·e·ty, noun, plural non·pro·pri·e·ties.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH propriety

probity propriety

Words nearby propriety

proprietary medicine, proprietary name, proprietor, proprietress, proprietrix, propriety, proprio motu, proprio-, proprioception, proprioceptive, proprioceptive mechanism

Words related to propriety

legitimacy, decorum, correctness, suitability, rectitude, respectability, morality, dignity, modesty, decency, correspondence, consonance, pleasantness, concord, justice, accordance, compatibility, properness, convenience, advisability

Example sentences from the Web for propriety

British Dictionary definitions for propriety

propriety
/ (prəˈpraɪətɪ) /

noun plural -ties

the quality or state of being appropriate or fitting
conformity to the prevailing standard of behaviour, speech, etc
the proprieties (plural) the standards of behaviour considered correct by polite society

Word Origin for propriety

C15: from Old French propriété, from Latin proprietās a peculiarity, from proprius one's own