do the decent thing

verb

To take the most honorable or appropriate course of action, even if is not necessarily in the person's own interests.

“Mr Speaker, will the Prime Minister do the decent thing and resign?”

Similar
do the right thing
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbdo the decent thing (third-person singular simple present does the decent thing, present participle doing the decent thing, simple past did the decent thing, past participle done the decent thing)

present singular third person does the decent thing · participle present doing the decent thing · past did the decent thing · participle past done the decent thing

  1. idiomaticset phraseTo take the most honorable or appropriate course of action, even if is not necessarily in the person's own interests.

    Mr Speaker, will the Prime Minister do the decent thing and resign?

    Synonyms: do the right thing

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo take the most honorable or appropriate course of action, even if is not necessarily in the person's own interests.

Similar
do the right thing
Also see
do the right thing
Cite this entry
APA

do the decent thing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20the%20decent%20thing

MLA

“do the decent thing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20the%20decent%20thing. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “do the decent thing,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20the%20decent%20thing.

Source: do the decent thing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.