respectability

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“It throws an air of respectability about five-dollar dealings that are sheer gambling,” the Inquirer wrote Sept. 25, 1878.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

U.S. backing gave them respectability and visibility, helping some to overcome their pariah status.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026

Dig beneath that and - barring a trip to Fantasyland in which Spurs win the Champions League - the rest of this season is now a quest for respectability, and for Frank, survival.

From BBC • Jan. 10, 2026

It challenged the idea of domestic respectability, treating the house as an open-ended experiment rather than a finished object.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025

The politics of respectability made sense to many black reformers during the Jim Crow era, since African Americans had no vote, could not change policy, and lived under the constant threat of the Klan.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander