MEANING
Not proper or appropriate to the situation, often because it violates decorum, taste, or social expectations.
Use it for
Describe behavior that violates the expectations of a setting.Use a breach of decorum to expose a character’s priorities or a group’s hypocrisy.
Words that belong together
- unseemly haste
- unseemly behavior
- unseemly spectacle
On the page
An unseemly haste to claim the vacant office unsettled the mourners.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Word forms
- Base
- unseemly
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Usage notes
Unseemly often reflects social or moral judgment about what is fitting; it does not simply mean ugly or unusual.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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