decent

Borrowed from Middle French décent, or its source, Latin decēns, present participle of decet (“it is fitting or suitable”), from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- (“to take, accept, to receive, greet, be suitable”) (compare Ancient Greek δοκέω (dokéō, “I appear, seem, think”), δέχομαι (dékhomai, “I accept”); Sanskrit दशस्यति (daśasyáti, “shows honor, is gracious”), दाशति (dāśati, “makes offerings, bestows”)). Meaning ‘kind, pleasant’ is from 1902.

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈdiːs(ə)nt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːsənt

decent (comparative more decent, superlative most decent)

1. Appropriate; suitable for the circumstances.
2. (of a person) Having a suitable conformity to basic moral standards; showing integrity, fairness, or other characteristics associated with moral uprightness.
3. (informal) Sufficiently clothed or dressed to be seen.

   Are you decent? May I come in?

4. Fair; acceptable; okay.

   He's a decent saxophonist, but probably not good enough to make a career of it.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe.

   • [1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 1, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section II, page 24:

     And ‘blubbing’ . . . Blubbing went out with ‘decent’ and ‘ripping’. Mind you, not a bad new language to start up. 1920s schoolboy slang could be due for a revival.]

   • 2021 June 30, Philip Haigh, “Regional trains squeezed as ECML congestion heads north”, in RAIL, number 934, page 53:

     I'm all for opening new stations (Transport Scotland is planning another at East Linton, about halfway between Drem and Dunbar), but they are useless without a decent service.

5. Significant; substantial.

   There are a decent number of references out there, if you can find them.

6. Conforming to perceived standards of good taste.
   • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 201:

     I had a cup of tea - the last decent cup of tea for many days; and in a room that most soothingly looked just as you would expect a lady’s drawing-room to look, we had a long quiet chat by the fireside.

7. (obsolete) Comely; shapely; well-formed.
   • a. 1645, John Milton, “Il Penseroso”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC, page 38:

     And ſable ſtole of Cipres Lawn,
     Over thy decent ſhoulders drawn.

• This term has a mildly positive connotation.

• (conforming suitably to moral standards): good, moral
• (good enough): See Thesaurus:satisfactory

• (antonym(s) of “conforming suitably to moral standards”): bad, immoral
• (antonym(s) of “sufficiently clothed”): indecent, underdressed
• (antonym(s) of “good enough”): inadequate, poor, unsatisfactory

• “decent”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

decent (usually uncountable, plural decents)

1. Misspelling of descent.

• cedent

From Latin decens.

• IPA^(key): /deˈt͡ʃent/

decent

1. decent

decent

1. third-person plural present active indicative of decet

From Latin decens.

• Audio:

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decent m (feminine singular decenta, masculine plural decents, feminine plural decentas)

1. decent

• decentament

• decéncia

Borrowed from French décent, from Latin decens.

• IPA^(key): /deˈt͡ʃent/

decent m or n (feminine singular decentă, masculine plural decenți, feminine and neuter plural decente)

1. decent

• “decent”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025