proper

1. 1.

   marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness

   “proper medical treatment”

   “proper manners”

   Antonymsimproper

   Similarbecomingcorrectfittinghalalkosherpriggish
2. 2.

   having all the qualities typical of the thing specified

   “wanted a proper dinner, not just a snack”

   “he finally has a proper job”

   Similarreal
3. 3.

   limited to the thing specified

   “the city proper”

   “his claim is connected with the deed proper”

   Similarspecific
4. 4.

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

   “everything in its proper place”

   “the right man for the job”

   “she is not suitable for the position”

   Synonymsright

   Similarappropriate

Other forms of proper

comparative

properrer·

superlative

properrest·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about proper

What does proper mean?

proper means "marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness". That is the primary sense; the word has 4 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in proper?

proper has 2 syllables: pro-per. The stress falls on "pro". In IPA it is /ˈpɹɑpɚ/.

What is another word for proper?

Close synonyms include right. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

What is the opposite of proper?

The recorded antonyms are improper.

Is proper a common word?

proper is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

What rhymes with proper?

1 word rhymes with proper. Rhymes are matched on the phonemes from the last stressed vowel onward, which is the definition a reader has in their head.