[more decent; most decent] 1 a : polite, moral, and honest
▪ I don't understand how so decent a person could be involved with this kind of crime. ▪ decent, hardworking people ▪ He is a decent guy who would help anyone in need. ▪ You need to do the decent thing and tell her what happened.
b somewhat informal : showing kindness : seeming to care about the feelings or problems of other people
▪ It's really decent [=nice, thoughtful] of them to help us like this. ▪ I apologized for the damage to his car, and he was pretty decent [=understanding] about it. 2 : good enough but not the best : adequate or acceptable
▪ She's a decent [=fairly good] tennis player. ▪ They can't afford decent [=adequate] housing. ▪ Are there any decent schools in that area? ▪ They served us a decent (enough) meal. ▪ I've got to get some decent clothes. ▪ He makes a decent living. = He has a job making/earning decent money. ▪ a halfway decent [=pretty good] movie 3 : appropriate or suitable
▪ I know you've got a lot to do, but try to get to bed at a decent hour. [=at a time that is not too late at night] ▪ We were asked to wait a decent interval [=wait for an appropriate amount of time] before making the announcement. — opposite indecent 4 : not using language that offends people : not including behavior or ideas that people commonly find offensive
▪ Please keep your jokes decent—there are children in the room. — opposite indecent 5 informal : wearing enough clothes : wearing clothes that cover enough of your body so that you are not embarrassed if someone sees you
▪ I can't come to the door right now—I'm not decent. Wait a minute, OK? ▪ Can I come in? Are you decent?