decorous - adjective
Characterized by dignity, good manners, good taste, appropriateness.
Note: Decorum is the noun form.
But, by a curious twist, it is not the leadership that is old and decorous that fetches him [the American], but the leadership that is new and extravagant. He will resist dictation out of the past, but he will follow a new messiah with almost Russian willingness, and into the wildest vagaries of economics, religion, morals and speech. A new fallacy in politics spreads faster in the United States than anywhere else on earth, and so does a new fashion in hats, or a new revelation of God, or a new means of killing time, or a new shibboleth, or metaphor, or piece of slang.
—H. L. Mencken The American Language (1921)
Note: You may download the Grammar eBook Build Your Vocabulary and get all 406 vocabulary words.
Next Word: deduce Previous Word: decimate
Have a discussion about this article with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In