From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishproprietypro‧pri‧e‧ty /prəˈpraɪəti/ noun formal 1 [singular, uncountable]RIGHT/PROPER correctness of social or moral behaviour OPP improprietypropriety of They discussed the propriety of treating ill children against the wishes of the parents.with propriety They conducted themselves with propriety.2 → the proprieties
Examples from the Corpus
propriety• A case can be made for both its constitutional propriety and its administrative efficiency.• Religions classically struggle with this same divided consciousness about order and chaos, balance and exuberance, propriety and spontaneity.• They, or at least the Quakers who lived in our town, had become paragons of propriety.• Kids today have no sense of propriety.• Are Charles and I really so susceptible to propriety, to the conventional?• But the residents are inordinately preoccupied with propriety, and nothing at all is funny.propriety of• Critics have questioned the propriety of some of the Senator's loans.Origin propriety (1500-1600) French propriété “property, quality”, from Latin proprietas; → PROPERTY 