decorum.

1. Conduct that meets the standards of propriety expected in a particular setting.

2. The appropriateness of a work's style, language, or treatment to its subject and circumstances.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• maintain decorum
• a breach of decorum
• a sense of decorum

On the page

Decorum required silence, but the widow laughed when the eulogy called him generous.

The judge restored decorum without raising her voice.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.