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Definition of Proper in English :

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Proper meaning in English

Meaning of Proper in English

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Proper

see synonyms of proper

Adjective

1. proper

marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness

Example Sentences:
'proper medical treatment'
'proper manners'

2. proper

having all the qualities typical of the thing specified

Example Sentences:
'wanted a proper dinner; not just a snack'
'he finally has a proper job'

3. proper

limited to the thing specified

Example Sentences:
'the city proper'
'his claim is connected with the deed proper'

4. proper, right

appropriate for a condition or purpose or occasion or a person's character, needs

Example Sentences:
'everything in its proper place'
'the right man for the job'
'she is not suitable for the position'

WordNet Lexical Database for English. Princeton University. 2010.

Proper

see synonyms of proper
adjective
1. (usually prenominal)
appropriate or suited for some purpose
in its proper place
2. 
correct in behaviour or conduct
3. 
excessively correct in conduct; vigorously moral
4. 
up to a required or regular standard
5. (immediately postpositive)
(of an object, quality, etc) referred to or named specifically so as to exclude anything not directly connected with it
his claim is connected with the deed proper
6. (postpositive; foll by to)
belonging to or characteristic of a person or thing
7. (prenominal) British informal
(intensifier)
I felt a proper fool
8. (usually postpositive)
(of heraldic colours) considered correct for the natural colour of the object or emblem depicted
three martlets proper
9. mathematics, logic
(of a relation) distinguished from a weaker relation by excluding the case where the relata are identical. For example, every set is a subset of itself, but a proper subset must exclude at least one member of the containing set
See also strict (sense 6)
10. archaic
pleasant or good
adverb
11. British dialect
(intensifier)
he's proper stupid
12.  good and proper
noun
13. 
the parts of the Mass that vary according to the particular day or feast on which the Mass is celebrated
Compare ordinary (sense 10)

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

Proper

see synonyms of proper
adjective
1. 
specially adapted or suitable to a specific purpose or specific conditions; appropriate
the proper tool for a job
2. 
naturally belonging or peculiar (to)
weather proper to April
3. 
conforming to an accepted standard or to good usage; correct
a proper spelling
4. 
fitting; seemly; right
proper modesty
5. 
decent; decorous; genteel
often connoting exaggerated respectability
“the proper Bostonians”
6. 
understood in its most restricted sense; strictly so called
usually following the noun modified
the population of Chicago proper (i.e., apart from its suburbs)
7.  British
complete; thorough
a proper scoundrel
8.  Chiefly Dialectal
a. 
fine; good; excellent
b. 
handsome
9.  Ecclesiastical
reserved for a particular day or festival
said of prayers, rites, etc.
10.  Grammar
a. 
designating a noun that names a specific individual, place, etc., that is not normally used with an article, and that is normally capitalized
“Donald,” “Rover,” and “Boston” are proper nouns, sometimes called proper names
see also common
b. 
designating an adjective formed from a proper noun, as Bostonian
11.  Heraldry
represented in its natural form or colors
adverb Dialectal
12. 
completely; thoroughly
13. 
properly; correctly
noun [often P-]; Ecclesiastical
14. 
the special office or prayers for a particular day or festival
15. 
those parts of the Mass which vary according to the particular day or festival

Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Proper

see synonyms of proper
adj.
1. Characterized by appropriateness or suitability; fitting: the proper knife for cutting bread; not a proper moment for a joke.
2. Called for by rules or conventions; correct: the proper form for a business letter.
3. Strictly following rules or conventions, especially in social behavior; seemly: a proper lady; a proper gentleman.
4.
a. Belonging to one; own: restored to his proper shape by the magician.
b. Characteristically belonging to the being or thing in question; peculiar: an optical effect proper to fluids.
5. Being within the strictly limited sense, as of a term designating something: the town proper, excluding the suburbs.
6. Ecclesiastical For use in the liturgy of a particular feast or season of the year.
7. Mathematics Of or relating to a subset of a given set when the set has at least one element not in the subset.
8. Worthy of the name; true: wanted a proper dinner, not just a snack.
9. Out-and-out; thorough: a proper whipping.
adv.
Thoroughly: beat the eggs good and proper.
n. also Proper
Ecclesiastical
The portion of the liturgy that varies according to the particular feast or season of the year.

The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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