From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdecencyde‧cen‧cy /ˈdiːsənsi/ noun 1 GOOD/MORAL[uncountable] polite, honest, and moral behaviour and attitudes that show respect for other people a judgment reflecting the decency and good sense of the American peoplecommon/human/public decency (=standards of behaviour that are expected of everyone) The film was banned on the grounds of public decency. Is there no sense of decency left in this country? If they’re going to charge people a fee, they ought to at least have the decency to tell them in advance.2 → decencies
Examples from the Corpus
decency• Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and decency.• It is at any rate possible that in her a certain ethical rightness and decency coexisted with aesthetic stiffness and suspicion.• If he had had any decency he would have talked to Mr Malik about what was going to happen.• He borrowed money from me and didn't even have the common decency to pay me back.• They had been covered with a square of spotted muslin, for decency she supposed.• Honesty, decency, good will have no place in this business of selling or murdering an image.• As gratified as I was by this display of loyalty and human decency, the picture was bleak.• On the radio sports-talk shows, where the laws of decency seemingly failed to apply.• Is there no sense of decency left in this country?• Trepolov had some sense of decency and didn't go attacking the ball like some damned dervish.• I think you should have the decency to tell him you are already married.• You can rely on their decency and good sense.common/human/public decency• As gratified as I was by this display of loyalty and human decency, the picture was bleak.• Until then, police practice involved turning a blind eye to minor breaches of public decency rather than embarking on lengthy prosecutions.• Both were a generous extension of human decency. 