indecorum

I1N1D2E1C3O1R1U1M3

noun

Indecorous behavior, or the state of being indecorous

Opposite
Scrabble 14

Meanings

nounindecorum (usually uncountable, plural indecorums)

plural indecorums

  1. uncountableusuallyIndecorous behavior, or the state of being indecorous

    This will be done decently and in good order--our training will admit of no indecorum.

    1917, Douglas Fairbanks, Laugh and Live
    3 more examples

    “But in this matter it is you who are to lead. You must set the example,—If others have blunder’d, it is your place to put them right, and shew them what true delicacy is.—In all points of decorum, your conduct must be law to the rest of the party.” This picture of her consequence had some effect, for no one loved better to lead than Maria;—and with far more good humour she answered, “I am much obliged to you, Edmund;—you mean very well, I am sure—but I still think you see things too strongly; and I really cannot undertake to harangue all the rest upon a subject of this kind.—There would be the greatest indecorum I think.”

    1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter XV, in Mansfield Park: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 293

    I hope your eyes are better, but if you must spare them, there is nothing in my pages which a Lady may not read aloud without indecorum, which is more than can be said of Shakspeare.

    1823, Charles Lamb, “Letter 305”, in The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb (Vol. 6)

    Not only were its central personages the patterns of propriety, but no breath of scandal, no shadow of indecorum, might approach its utmost boundaries.

    1921, Lytton Strachey, Queen Victoria

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna lack of decorum

Opposite

nounan act of undue intimacy

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinindecōrum
  2. Englishindecorum

From Latin indecōrum, neuter substantive of indecōrus.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

indecorum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indecorum

MLA

“indecorum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indecorum. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “indecorum,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indecorum.

Source: indecorum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.