Antonyms for proper
| Grammar : Adj |
| Spell : prop-er |
| Phonetic Transcription : ˈprɒp ər |
Definition of proper
Origin :- c.1300, "adapted to some purpose, fit, apt; commendable, excellent" (sometimes ironic), from Old French propre "own, particular; exact, neat, fitting, appropriate" (11c.), from Latin proprius "one's own, particular to itself," from pro privo "for the individual, in particular," from ablative of privus "one's own, individual" (see private (adj.)) + pro "for" (see pro-). Related: Properly.
- From early 14c. as "belonging or pertaining to oneself; individual; intrinsic;" from mid-14c. as "pertaining to a person or thing in particular, special, specific; distinctive, characteristic;" also "what is by the rules, correct, appropriate, acceptable." From early 15c. as "separate, distinct; itself." Meaning "socially appropriate, decent, respectable" is first recorded 1704. Proper name "name belonging to or relating to the person or thing in question," is from late 13c., a sense also preserved in astronomical proper motion (c.1300). Proper noun is from c.1500.
- adj suitable
- adj mannerly, decent
- adj conventional, correct
- adj individual, personal
- Many such instances might be adduced if this were the proper occasion.
- Extract from : « United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches » by Various
- And why may I not think that I am now put upon a proper exercise of it?
- Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson
- She only felt that to feel it was the beautiful and proper thing.
- Extract from : « Life and Death of Harriett Frean » by May Sinclair
- He ought to get her a proper servant and a man for the garden and the bath chair.
- Extract from : « Life and Death of Harriett Frean » by May Sinclair
- HALL is a landsman, and therefore the proper man to send in search of land.
- Extract from : « Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 6, May 7, 1870 » by Various
- Proper attention should be given to them after they are purchased, too.
- Extract from : « Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 2 » by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
- In the "Library" proper, however, there are few traces of them.
- Extract from : « De Libris: Prose and Verse » by Austin Dobson
- The messenger, too, who lends himself to her humour now becomes a proper man.
- Extract from : « The Man Shakespeare » by Frank Harris
- She had known the man, had taken the situation at its proper value.
- Extract from : « K » by Mary Roberts Rinehart
- It has come to me right out of myself, so I know that it has come at the proper time.
- Extract from : « De Profundis » by Oscar Wilde
Synonyms for proper
- able
- absolute
- accepted
- accurate
- applicable
- appropriate
- apt
- arrant
- au fait
- becoming
- befitting
- by the book
- by the numbers
- capable
- characteristic
- comely
- comme il faut
- competent
- complete
- conforming
- consummate
- convenient
- correct
- customary
- de rigueur
- decent
- decorous
- demure
- desired
- distinctive
- established
- exact
- felicitous
- fit
- fitting
- formal
- free of error
- genteel
- good
- happy
- idiosyncratic
- in line
- just
- kosher
- legitimate
- meet
- moral
- nice
- on target
- on the button
- on the nose
- on the right track
- orthodox
- out-and-out
- own
- particular
- peculiar
- polite
- precise
- priggish
- prim
- prissy
- private
- prudish
- punctilious
- puritanical
- qualified
- refined
- respectable
- respective
- right
- seemly
- solid
- special
- specific
- square
- stone
- straight
- strait-laced
- stuffy
- suited
- true
- unmistaken
- useful
- usual
- utter
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019