propriety in manners and conduct

Propriety of manner or conduct; grace arising from suitableness of speech and behavior to one's own character, or to the place and occasion; decency of conduct; seemliness; that which is seemly or suitable.

Propriety and becomingness of words, dress, and conduct; suitableness, as for occasion; seemliness; dignity.

Propriety of conduct; decency.

Propriety of speech or behaviour; seemliness; decency.

Propriety of speech or behaviour; decency.

The old feeling of decorum was lost, the egotism of the unbridled was harsh and wounding; the proper, but often narrow- minded pride of citizen and nobleman was broken, and the simple patriarchal relation between prince and subject was lost during thirty years of calamity and distrust. – Pictures of German Life in the XVth XVIth and XVIIth Centuries, Vol. II. by Gustav Freytag

He had, no doubt, reprimanded them for some breach of decorum, for they, slipping gently aside, held their hands up to their foreheads. – French and Oriental Love in a Harem by Mario Uchard

J. P. Thornton and Archie Blair tried to preserve some dignity, but Lawyer Ed was in a towering rage and cared not for decorum. – The End of the Rainbow by Marian Keith

Good- humour and decorum, however, prevailed to such a degree that, during the number, of hours I mixed in the crowd, I witnessed not the smallest disturbance. – Paris As It Was and As It Is by Francis W. Blagdon

" If you cannot exhibit greater decorum, Potts, we shall be obliged to put your head in a bag," says Sir Penthony, severely. – Molly Bawn by Margaret Wolfe Hamilton

Mrs. Pasmer turned away a smile at their decorum. – April Hopes by William Dean Howells Last Updated: February 27, 2009

Miss Knowles bore the situation with restraint and decorum. – New Faces by Myra Kelly

And would not any attempt at a statement of the reasons he had for such an outrageous breach of all decorum be taken for a denial of those things concerning which he only desired most earnestly to know that they were true. – Thomas Wingfold, Curate by George MacDonald

The high spirit and strong passions of Lady Henrietta broke through all restraints of virtue and decorum. – The History of England from the Accession of James II. Volume 1 (of 5) by Thomas Babington Macaulay

The drive was thick with shingle, and the mourning coaches lurched and rolled in it, spoiling no doubt the decorum of their occupants. – Joanna Godden by Sheila Kaye-Smith

They might chafe and fret inwardly at the delay, but outwardly they were obliged to behave with due decorum. – The Manor House School by Angela Brazil

There are times when boisterous mirth is indulged in by our people, but the rule is gravity and decorum. – Indian Boyhood by [AKA Ohiyesa], Charles A. Eastman

One must not forget one is in a fair way to become a grandfather; it is plainly an urgent duty to reconcile oneself to that estate and cultivate its proper gravity and decorum. – Alias The Lone Wolf by Louis Joseph Vance

I have just seen dear Washington Irving, and it required all my sense of decent decorum to prevent my throwing my arms round his neck, he looked so like a bit of home, England. – Records of a Girlhood by Frances Ann Kemble

Indeed, it was particularly notable to my American eyes to find such decorum where there might easily have been the greatest license. – The Twins of Table Mountain and Other Stories by Bret Harte

Indeed, Hatchett painted a gloomy picture of the conduct of those colonists who were now on shore, declaring that they had cast all discipline and decorum to the winds, and that they needed stern treatment if they were to be prevented from breaking out into open mutiny. – Marjorie by Justin Huntly McCarthy

By all means let us have dignity, decorum, and distinctive dress, but if you go into the High Court, although you may hear the affairs of the poor dealt with sympathetically and in a just spirit, the atmosphere of the Court is well- to- do and prosperous. – The Law and the Poor by Edward Abbott Parry

To sip it would show a lamentable want of decorum. – The Land of The Blessed Virgin; Sketches and Impressions in Andalusia by William Somerset Maugham