Propriety Meaning
/pɹəˈpɹaɪəti/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe particular character or essence of someone or something; individuality.
nounA characteristic; an attribute.
Sentence Examples
The way tourists dress offends the local standard of propriety.
The way tourists dress offends local standards of propriety.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
None
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
She always acts with great ____, never saying anything offensive or rude.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She always behaved with the utmost ____ in professional settings, never giving cause for criticism.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1723, Charles Walker, Memoirs of the Life of Sally Salisbury:
"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."
— 1671, Thomas Watson, The Beatitudes, page 49:
"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[…]"
— 1791, John Walker, “Construe”, in A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary […] , London: Sold by G. G. J. and J. Robinſon, Paternoſter Row; and T. Cadell, in the Strand, →OCLC, page 162:
"I find such a pleasure, sir, in obeying your commands, that I take care to observe them without ever debating their propriety."
— 1773, Oliver Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer:
"Now, if we may, with propriety, refer to the people one question, why may we not, with equal propriety, refer another?"
— 1850, Edward Ralph May, Speech on African American Suffrage:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She always acts with great ____, never saying anything offensive or rude.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She always behaved with the utmost ____ in professional settings, never giving cause for criticism.