# decent

Pronunciation: say "DEE-suhnt" /ˈdiːs(ə)nt/

## Adjective

1. Good enough to be acceptable, though not outstanding.
   - Simple: Good enough to be okay, but not great.
   - _She found a decent apartment within her budget._
   - _The team put up a decent fight before losing in overtime._
2. Considerable in amount, size, or degree.
   - Simple: Fairly large in amount or size.
   - _The company posted a decent profit this quarter._
   - _She built up a decent following before launching her own shop._
3. Conforming to basic moral standards, and showing integrity, fairness, and similar honorable qualities.
   - Simple: Honest and kind, with good moral values.
   - _Most people try to do the decent thing even when no one is watching._
   - _A decent employer treats every worker with respect and fairness._
4. Appropriate and suitable for the particular circumstances.
   - Simple: Right or proper for the situation.
   - _They couldn't come up with a decent excuse for arriving so late._
   - _Wait a decent interval before raising the subject with him again._
5. In keeping with accepted standards of good taste and propriety.
   - Simple: Following what people see as polite and in good taste.
   - _The show stayed decent despite the rowdy crowd egging the host on._
   - _He made a decent effort to steer the dinner conversation away from gossip._
6. Wearing enough clothing to be seen by others without embarrassment. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Wearing enough clothes to be seen by other people.
   - _She wasn't decent yet, so she asked them to wait in the hall._
   - _Give me a minute to throw on a robe and make myself decent._

## Adjective

7. Attractive and well-formed in shape or figure. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Good-looking and nicely shaped.

## Origin

This word was borrowed from Middle French décent, or from its source, the Latin decēns, the present participle of decet ('it is fitting or suitable'), which goes back to the Proto-Indo-European root *deḱ- ('to take, accept, be suitable'). The meaning 'kind, pleasant' dates from 1902.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/decent (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).