Decency: The Standard You Are Expected to Meet
Decency is behaviour that meets accepted standards of morality and respect. It is a quiet word, usually noticed only when someone falls short of it.
Decency is conduct that meets a shared minimum standard. It is a low bar deliberately: nobody is praised for decency the way they are for generosity, and the word appears most often in the phrase *had the decency to*, which is faint praise at best.
- Acceptable moral behaviour. *A basic sense of decency.*
- Politeness and consideration. *He had the decency to apologise.*
- Modesty in dress or speech. *Standards of public decency.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | decency | Common decency. |
| Adjective | decent | A decent man. |
| Adverb | decently | Decently paid. |
| Opposite | indecency | Charged with indecency. |
| Opposite | indecent | An indecent proposal. |
How it is used in a sentence
- He did not even have the decency to reply.The commonest frame — noting an absence.
- Common decency requires an apology.A shared minimum, assumed rather than argued for.
- Are you decent?Informal — are you dressed?
Decent means several things
- Morally acceptable — *a decent person*
- Adequate or reasonably good — *a decent meal*, *a decent salary*
- Dressed — *are you decent?*
- Kind — *it was decent of her to call*
- The second sense is now the most common in speech, and carries no moral weight at all
From Latin *decentia*, from *decere*, to be fitting. The root idea is fitness rather than virtue: decent behaviour is behaviour that fits the occasion, which is why the word covers both morality and a passable meal.
Decency or morality?
Morality concerns right and wrong in principle. Decency concerns meeting the standards people actually expect of each other.
Is decent praise?
Mild praise. *A decent effort* means adequate, not impressive.