decent thing

11 3.2

An action most people see as the right and kind thing to do

noun

: lo correcto

He felt that returning the lost wallet was the decent thing to do.
the only decent thing
the one decent thing
the decent thing in my life

Examples

That's the decent thing to do.

The Patriot (1998)
If there are any decent parents of public school children, they ought to do the decent thing and get them out of public schools immediately.

Blog text (4)
This is a decent thing you did.

Goal! (2005)
This is the chance for one of us to do the decent thing.

Burke & Hare (2010)
It's the only decent thing to do.

The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)
- You did the decent thing.

The Apartment (1960)
The decent thing to do is to catch the killer.

Sherlock Holmes (2010)
Is he now going to do the decent thing and resign, Prime Minister?
It's the decent thing to do, that's all.

See How They Run (2022)
It seemed the decent thing to do.

Fiction book (1993)

Antonyms

immoral

144 4.6

Not following what most people think is right or wrong

wrongdoing

117 3.7

Bad actions that break the law or moral rules

indecent

NSFW

43 6.7

Not acceptable in public because it is offensive or sexual

How Moral

deeds

6 3.1

good form

3 4.9

decent thing

11 3.2

wrongdoing

117 3.7

Surface Forms

decent thing singular

decent things plural

Morphology

decent + thing

The meaning 'the morally correct or proper action' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'decent' (socially/morally proper) with 'thing' (a discrete action or occurrence). This straightforward adjective + noun composition follows common cross-linguistic patterns and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Decent thing comes from a simple image of a decent person choosing the right thing when it matters. So, it means 'the morally correct or proper action'.