proper

Correct or right for the job, situation, or purpose.

• Use the proper tools for this job.
• Nobody explained the proper way to fill in the form.
• Have you received proper training?

How to use it: proper way to do something (Show me the proper way to hold the tool.)

Similar words: correct, right, appropriate

Opposites: wrong, improper

Common phrases: the proper way, proper use, proper equipment

Suitable for a particular purpose or situation.

• Wait for the proper time to ask.
• This is the proper place for a quiet conversation.
• We lacked proper clothing for the cold weather.

How to use it: proper for something (These shoes are proper for a formal dinner.)

Similar words: suitable, appropriate, fitting

Opposites: unsuitable, inappropriate

Common phrases: the proper time, the proper place, proper clothing

Acceptable according to the usual rules of polite behavior.

• Her manners were always proper.
• It was not proper to interrupt the speaker.
• They expected guests to wear proper evening dress.

How to use it: proper to do something (Is it proper to leave before the host?)

Similar words: respectable, polite, decorous

Opposites: improper

Common phrases: proper behavior, proper manners, perfectly proper, a proper gentleman

The main part of a place or thing, excluding areas or parts around it.

• We finally reached the town proper.
• The gardens lie outside the palace proper.
• Does this district belong to the city proper?

How to use it: noun + proper (The city proper has fewer residents than the surrounding suburbs.)

Common phrases: the city proper, the town proper, the building proper