respectability
Americannoun
plural
respectabilities-
the state or quality of being respectable.
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respectable social standing, character, or reputation.
-
a respectable person or persons.
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respectabilities, things accepted as respectable.
Other Word Forms
- nonrespectability noun
- prerespectability noun
- semirespectability noun
- superrespectability noun
- unrespectability noun
Etymology
Origin of respectability
First recorded in 1775–85; respectable + -ity
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She dubs the all-women’s institution a “kiln of respectability” and doesn’t mind the strict curfews and dress code because she revels in being part of the powerful “Spelman sisterhood.”
Mr. Willis published an essay, “Post-Mortuum Soiree,” in the next issue of his Home Journal, “the ‘demonstration,’ … is of sufficient extent and respectability to warrant grave attention.
From Literature
There was something else that academics offered Epstein beyond a veneer of respectability: access.
Dig beneath that and - barring a trip to Fantasyland in which Spurs win the Champions League - the rest of this season is now a quest for respectability, and for Frank, survival.
From BBC
His job is to find someone to lead a 3-14 team, outscored by 191 points this season, and drag it back to something approaching respectability.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
