What's the difference between decency and probity?

Decency


Definition:

  • (n.) The quality or state of being decent, suitable, or becoming, in words or behavior; propriety of form in social intercourse, in actions, or in discourse; proper formality; becoming ceremony; seemliness; hence, freedom from obscenity or indecorum; modesty.
  • (n.) That which is proper or becoming.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) This is not some sophisticated, Westminstery battle, but a life-and-death, misery-or-decency choice about the very basics of life for hundreds of thousands of older British people.
  • (2) "Throughout America, the Queen stands for decency and civility."
  • (3) Yes, Goldsmith is to be held in contempt: a man of decency would have rejected this gutter strategy.
  • (4) "Sir Alex Ferguson had the decency to phone me to let me know that he was going in another direction after I applied for the reserve team post at Manchester United in 2003.
  • (5) As Obama put it in her speech today, this isn’t about politics, “it’s about basic human decency”.
  • (6) Having been born in Belgium he didn't start from a belief in the inferiority of other countries, but he loved Britain for the security it offered his family and the gentle decency of our nation."
  • (7) She is talking to Dizzee Rascal, who at least has the decency to goon around for the camera.
  • (8) If Whittingdale had any honour, any mercy, and any basic human decency, he would murder David Attenborough himself today, in his bed, to spare him any further suffering.
  • (9) But we can all probably do without Fifa's "fair play in marketing" lectures, which clothe commercial ruthlessness in the language of sporting decency, apparently oblivious to the impression given by wallpapering every stadium with signs that push BP or declare "We proudly accept only Visa".
  • (10) Neither the Congress nor evaluators have clear concepts of what constitutes a life of decency and dignity for the chronically dependent.
  • (11) At 6ft 3in tall, the lanky Peck was a pillar of moral rectitude standing up for decency and tolerance.
  • (12) Austerity as we know it – where basic human decency is sacrificed to solutions that purport to be cheaper but turn out not to be – actually started before the austerity narrative.
  • (13) Decency is one of those lines.” Erickson also told reporters: “I don’t want to put words in [Trump’s] mouth and I hate using the label misogynist because I think its used too much but he’s suggesting a woman as a lady asked him a question and did so because it was her time of the month.
  • (14) I hope David Cameron has the decency to invite you around for coffee or lunch as Tony Blair and David Blunkett did once I was out.
  • (15) A former director general of the prison service, Martin Narey, who now has a contract with the firm as a consultant on decency in G4S prisons, says he was once vehemently opposed to private-sector involvement in the prison service before he was appointed in 1998.
  • (16) Few would challenge the Camerons' fundamental decency.
  • (17) Looking first at the smaller politics, the attack by Fallon on Miliband’s decency and fitness for No 10 was a risky play by the Tories.
  • (18) In Uncommon Danger, the representatives of communism and what Zaleshoff calls "moderate radicalism" but Kenton himself would probably think of as basic human decency are pitted against the agents of capital and fascism: Balterghen, Saridza and their many cronies.
  • (19) But the depth of this tragedy also drew out the decency and determination of our nation.
  • (20) Fry wrote: "I gather a repulsive nobody writing in a paper no one of any decency would be seen dead with has written something loathsome and inhumane.

Probity


Definition:

  • (n.) Tried virtue or integrity; approved moral excellence; honesty; rectitude; uprightness.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The alleged conduct was not conduct that could adversely affect the probity of the exercise of an official function by a public official.
  • (2) Members of the board of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) have been ordered to declare any contact they have with its former chief executivefor two years following Tim Smith's controversial move to Tesco to ensure "proper governance and probity".
  • (3) The Biological Stain Commission-sponsored workshop was convened to address the following issues: a manufacturers' testing program for probity of commercial antibodies, development of a manual for performance criteria and quality control assurance procedures, standardization of package inserts, standardization of information provided in the Materials and Methods sections of publications, establishment of a reagent and procedure clearing house, study of the effects of different fixation regimes on tissue antigens, and investigation of the environmental conditions needed for antigen-antibody interaction.
  • (4) Douglas has always advocated new politics, probity, transparency – this is his public image.
  • (5) We will establish partnerships between different countries’ institutions and professions to help build a shared culture of honesty and probity.
  • (6) In the circumstances, you do have to marvel at that mulishly self-regarding "for any offence caused" – the classic non-apology apology typically proffered by those with a belief in their own absolute probity, which is as unshakeable as it is misplaced.
  • (7) This British bank has generally enjoyed a high reputation for probity (as these places go) until yesterday, when some New York regulator apparently denounced Standard as a 'rogue institution.'
  • (8) She has had her ­problems with the Tories, in particular over Boris Johnson's attempted ­appointment of former London Evening Standard editor Veronica ­Wadley to the chair of Arts Council London (a letter of Forgan's to Bradshaw, questioning the probity of the ­recruitment process, was leaked last year; there have been Tory mutterings that Forgan is too bound up with the Labour establishment).
  • (9) Looking into the Eds’ eyes, wavering voters do not spy the cutting zeal that reassures them of fiscal probity; but nor do they offer a genuine alternative to those fed up of Osborne’s botch job.
  • (10) If a leader can convince voters they will not back-slide in this way, then – with probity, empathy and practical balms for a country gripped by a sustained squeeze on living standards – they might still cut through.
  • (11) And, while the emphasis has mostly been on the probity of Mann's hockey stick, most researchers I have spoken to regard the M&M study as far more deeply flawed.
  • (12) "He had a complete loss of confidence when he described Jeffrey Archer as a man of probity and integrity – only for us to watch him go to jail.
  • (13) • Focus on technical skills as well as probity of approved persons.
  • (14) One energy industry analyst said the prospect of a $1bn government loan for Adani’s railway showed a lack of financier interest and raised probity questions, given public money would go to a private entity controlled by the Adani family through offshore tax havens.
  • (15) Manipulating the system, or indeed any unscrupulous behaviour, would have been unthinkable, Zombanakis says, because the system was based not only on the probity of men in bowler hats and pinstripe suits but on something more important still: an unwritten code of conduct inspired entirely by fair play.
  • (16) But I and my family - my father and my two uncles, although they've all gone now - have had an enduring reputation for probity, integrity and honesty," he added.
  • (17) To spread best practice, ensure probity and the equitable use of public funds, and to ensure transparency and accountability locally, we need a devolved schools system.
  • (18) If the party did much more of what it says on the tin, the doubts about honesty, trust and appeal would dissolve as its reputation would be enhanced by probity and authenticity.
  • (19) Ensuring the probity of the foreign exchange rates is “incredibly important” for the FX market and “fundamentally important” for the credibility of the Bank of England itself , Carney added.
  • (20) Bailey said the initiative to seek written promises of probity from editorial executives did not extend to former staff such as Morgan.