propriety.

Behavior or expression that meets accepted standards of correctness or decency.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• social propriety
• sense of propriety

On the page

Her sense of propriety prevented a public confrontation.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Usually uncountable; no ordinary plural in this sense. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.