decent
decent — 形容詞
1. having enough quality, honesty, or moral correctness to meet what people normall
體面的
品質、行為或道德達到可接受標準的
having enough quality, honesty, or moral correctness to meet what people normally expect of something or someone.
The hotel was decent — the rooms were clean and the staff were friendly.
這家旅館還算體面——房間乾淨，員工也很友善。
Sahil is a decent man who always returns borrowed tools and helps his neighbours.
Sahil 是個正派的人，總會歸還借來的工具，也會幫助鄰居。
describes moral character of a person
Isabela left a decent tip even though the service was slow.
Isabela 即使服務速度很慢，還是給了體面的小費。
Aarav's manager said forwarding a colleague's private email to the whole office was not decent.
Aarav 的主管說，把同事的私人郵件轉發給整個辦公室是很不得體的行為。
The salary they offered was decent enough to cover rent and food.
他們開的薪水還算體面，足夠支付房租和食物。
- fair
More about justice and impartiality than quality; 'fair treatment' focuses on equality, while 'decent treatment' adds a sense of generosity.
- respectable
Leans toward social status and reputation; a 'respectable job' impresses others, while a 'decent job' simply meets your needs.
- satisfactory
Purely about meeting minimum requirements with no moral dimension; 'satisfactory work' passes inspection but may lack warmth.
- proper
Emphasises following rules or conventions; 'proper behaviour' follows etiquette, while 'decent behaviour' also implies genuine kindness.
- indecent
Direct opposite in the moral/social sense; 'indecent behaviour' violates accepted standards.
- poor
Opposite in the quality sense; 'poor quality' falls below what is acceptable.
- unacceptable
Opposite in the adequacy sense; 'unacceptable work' fails to meet the required standard.
用法筆記
Can describe quality (a decent meal), moral character (a decent person), or social appropriateness (a decent thing to do). The exact shade of meaning depends on the noun it modifies.
常見錯誤
2. wearing enough clothing so as not to be seen without proper covering, especially
衣著整齊的
穿好衣服以免裸露的
wearing enough clothing so as not to be seen without proper covering, especially when someone might otherwise see you without enough clothing.
Asher asked everyone to wait while he put on a shirt to be decent.
Asher 請大家等他穿好襯衫，這樣才衣著整齊。
Make sure the children are decent before you open the door to visitors.
在開門迎接訪客前，先確認孩子們穿好衣服了。
common polite question: 'Are you decent?'
The robe was too thin for Zola to feel decent walking to the bathroom.
那件睡袍太薄了，Zola 覺得穿著它走到走廊上不太得體。
After the swim, Joon wrapped a towel around himself and called out, 'I am decent!'
游泳結束後，Joon 用毛巾圍住身體，喊道：「我穿好衣服了！」
- dressed
Neutral term without the implication of sufficiency; 'dressed' simply means wearing clothes.
- clothed
More formal than 'dressed'; often used in contrasted contexts ('clothed vs. naked').
- presentable
Emphasises readiness to be seen by others, often with an additional hint of tidiness.
用法筆記
This sense is always predicative (comes after a linking verb like 'be' or 'feel'). The question 'Are you decent?' is a common polite way to check if someone is dressed enough before entering a room.