DECOROUS Synonyms: 86 Similar and Opposite Words

decorous

adjective

ˈde-kər-əs

as in polite

following the established traditions of refined society and good taste we were asked to be on our most decorous behavior at the formal event

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in formal

marked by or showing careful attention to set forms and details the oppressively decorous standards of a royal court

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of decorous Paul has to buck the prevailing suffragist movement led by Carrie Chapman Catt, whose methods are more decorous and patient. —

Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 29 Jan. 2026 The hearings are usually decorous affairs, where anger is routine but controlled. —

David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 16 Sep. 2025 Still, Julie Rotblatt Amrany got the flying ponytail right and delivered a decorous portrayal that was well received. —

Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2025 The teenager, who spoke in hushed, decorous bursts, had months earlier shot rats near a friend’s camp in Manchac, dressed the carcasses (an intricate process, given the animal’s size), and frozen their haunches. —

Nathaniel Rich, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for decorous

Recent Examples of Synonyms for decorous

Adjective

This week, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal, together with Representative Ro Khanna, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that reads less like a polite congressional inquiry and more like a prosecutorial brief.

— Mayra Rodriguez Valladares, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026
Off the pitch, Kvaratskhelia was generous, obsessed over his self-improvement, and unfailingly polite.

— Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 29 May 2026