Propriety

noun

noun ·4 syllables ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The particular character or essence of someone or something; individuality. countable, obsolete, uncountable
  2. 2
    correct or appropriate behavior wordnet
  3. 3
    A characteristic; an attribute. countable, obsolete, uncountable
  4. 4
    A piece of land owned by someone; someone's property. archaic, countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    More generally, something owned by someone; a possession. countable, obsolete, uncountable

    "I was fearful of giving You a very sensible Disgust, in making You seem the Propriety of one Man, when You know Yourself ordained for the Comfort and Refreshment of Multitudes."

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    The fact of possessing something; ownership. countable, uncountable

    "This ſweet word, I will be your God, implies, 1. Propriety, that all that is in God ſhall be ours; his love ours, his Spirit ours, his mercy ours."

  2. 7
    Correct language or pronunciation. archaic, countable, uncountable

    "Thoſe who ought to be the guardians of propriety are often the perverters of it. Hence Accidence for Accidents, Prepoſtor for Prepoſitor and Conſtur for Conſtrue[…]"

  3. 8
    Suitability, fitness; the quality of being appropriate. countable, uncountable

    "I find such a pleasure, sir, in obeying your commands, that I take care to observe them without ever debating their propriety."

  4. 9
    Correctness in behaviour and morals; good manners, seemliness. countable, in-plural, often, uncountable

    "“Divine receptacle of excellence, let it not be deemed impertinent, or deviating from the rules of propriety, if I propound one queſtion which now labours in my breaſt; aſſuring me firſt, you will not let the ſceptre of true judgment depart from your right hand.”"

Synonyms

All synonyms
owndompossessionpropertyadmissibilityadvantageadvantageousness

Example

More examples

"The way tourists dress offends the local standard of propriety."

Etymology

From late Middle English proprietee, propretee, propriete (“ownership”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman propreté, Middle French proprieté, from Latin proprietās. By surface analysis, prop(e)r + -iety. Doublet of property.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.