decorous
/ˈdɛkəɹəs/
"decorous" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“decorous” is an uncommon English word, ranked #96,917 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #96,917
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Marked by behaviour, manners, etc., regarded as proper, tasteful, and in accordance with accepted standards; becoming, seemly.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | decorous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈdɛkəɹəs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #96,917 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “decorous” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for decorous is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɛkəɹəs/. Corpus data places it at rank #96,917 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
decorous doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the following: * Latin decōrus (“becoming, fitting, proper, suitable”) + English -ous (suffix adjectives denoting presence of a quality in any degree, typically an abundance). Decōrus is derived from decor (“elegrance, grace; charm beauty”) + -us (suff… The correct English form is decorous, spelled D-E-C-O-R-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Marked by behaviour, manners, etc., regarded as proper, tasteful, and in accordance with accepted standards; becoming, seemly.
- 2Appropriate, suitable.
Etymology
From the following: * Latin decōrus (“becoming, fitting, proper, suitable”) + English -ous (suffix adjectives denoting presence of a quality in any degree, typically an abundance). Decōrus is derived from decor (“elegrance, grace; charm beauty”) + -us (suffix forming adjectives); and decor is from decēre, the present active infinitive of decet (“to adorn; to be decent; to be proper or suitable”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- (“to perceive; to take”). * Possibly also influenced by Late Latin decorōsus (“beautiful; elegant”), from decoris + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of’ forming adjectives from nouns). Decoris is the genitive singular of decus (“beauty, grace, ornament, splendour; distinction, glory, honour”), from Proto-Indo-European *déḱos (“that which is proper”), from *deḱ- (see above).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “decorous”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-C-O-R-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɛkəɹəs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.