well behaved
1
1.2
- adjective
- /wɛl bɪˈheɪvd/
:
bien educado
- The children were very well behaved during the school assembly, listening quietly to the speaker.
Examples
-
The young people know that their parents expect them to be well-behaved at all times, including during their time in school.
Academic text (1996) -
A well-behaved, on-task, and active student was desired.
Academic text (1991) -
Normally, he was very well behaved.
Academic text (2014) -
Andrew could be well-behaved when necessary.
Academic text (2018) -
I should emphasize that for me the litter here was the people; they were well behaved.
Blog text (6) -
A child doesn't have to be well behaved.
Fiction book (2000) -
WB was very well behaved.
Blog text (14) -
Said Gay Tálèse, author of Honor Thy Father, "Mafia children respect their parents and are very well behaved..."
Academic text (2016) -
"Very well behaved," said Chris Kornkven, a Persian Gulf War veteran from Helenville, Wis., who stopped to pet the dogs.
Blog text (15) -
Even that early we waited for 45 minutes with other clean, neat, well-behaved Evil Winter Parkians to dimple chads for Romney-Paul!
Blog text (9)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Being kind and polite to others
329
1.0
Showing good manners and respect to other people
43
3.7
Polite and respectful when you speak or behave
10
2.9
Polite and respectful to other people
4
5.8
Polite and taught to behave well by family or school
1
4.1
Polite and behaving well around other people
1
7.3
Being polite and treating people with respect
Antonyms
How Well-Behaved
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'well behaved' is directly and transparently derived from 'well' (in a good/satisfactory manner) + 'behave' (to act in a socially acceptable way), so its meaning 'behaving in a polite or proper way' is predictable from the parts. This construction (adverb + past-participial adjective) is a standard, cross-linguistically common pattern and will be immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Well behaved comes from the simple idea of doing things in a good way, with well meaning good and describing behaved. Imagine a child who follows the rules and shows polite manners, and that's why the phrase means 'polite' or 'proper' today.