Decent, Descent, Dissent
Decent, pronounced "DEE-sent," means "socially acceptable." It's also an old fashioned way to say "polite." These days if you ask someone if she's decent, you probably don't care if she went to finishing school, you're just wondering if she's dressed so you can come in. Decent can also mean good but not excellent. Have it both ways:
Descent, pronounced "dih-SENT," means the act of moving downward, either physically or socially, like an evil cartoon character's descent into the underworld, or a villain's descent into madness, or even your descent into the subway station or down a mountain:
Finally, dissent, also pronounced "dih-SENT" is to pipe up against popular opinion. It can refer to an opinion that differs from an official or popularly held one.To dissent is to voice such an opinion. There are shades of meaning, but it always means to go against the grain:
To recap: decent is fine and you're dressed, descent is to go down down down, and dissent is when you're opinion doesn't mesh with others. (Description from Vocabulary.com) |