| Learning / English Dictionary |
IMPROPER
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Not appropriate for a purpose or occasion
Example:
said all the wrong things
Synonyms:
improper; wrong
Classified under:
Similar:
inappropriate (not suitable for a particular occasion etc)
Derivation:
improperness (an improper demeanor)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Not suitable or right or appropriate
Example:
improper attire for the golf course
Classified under:
Similar:
indecent; indecorous; unbecoming; uncomely; unseemly; untoward (not in keeping with accepted standards of what is right or proper in polite society)
out-of-the-way; out of the way (improper or even offensive)
incorrect; wrong (not in accord with established usage or procedure)
Also:
inappropriate (not suitable for a particular occasion etc)
indecent (offensive to good taste especially in sexual matters)
indecorous; indelicate (lacking propriety and good taste in manners and conduct)
unfit (below the required standards for a purpose)
wrong (contrary to conscience or morality or law)
Attribute:
correctitude; properness; propriety (correct or appropriate behavior)
Antonym:
proper (marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness)
Derivation:
improperness (an improper demeanor)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Not conforming to legality, moral law, or social convention
Example:
improper banking practices
Synonyms:
improper; unconventional; unlawful
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
irregular (contrary to rule or accepted order or general practice)
Derivation:
improperness (an improper demeanor)
Context examples:
Indeed he has no improper pride.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
She must have felt the improper and dangerous distinction.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
It is caused by improper signaling from the brainstem to respiratory muscles and is triggered by either hypoventilation or hyperventilation.
(Central Sleep Apnea Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)
Issue associated with the connection of device and/or device components being improper or not in accordance with device specification, requirements and intended uses.
(Misconnection Medical Device Problem, Food and Drug Administration)
Device problems associated with the improper combination of materials or elements present in the device (e.g., improper composition of the materials of a capacitor).
(Device Improper Composition Evaluation Result, Food and Drug Administration)
Device problems that result from storing the device in an uncontrolled or improper environment (e.g., moisture sensitive devices stored in a humid environment).
(Device Storage Problem Evaluation Result, Food and Drug Administration)
An artifact resulting from the use of defective equipment or from improper use of equipment.
(Faulty Instrument or Use of Instrument Artifact, NCI Thesaurus)
The condition often occurs as a nonspecific response to mechanical injury from incidental corneal contact by intraocular instruments during surgery; chemical injury from the improper use of intraocular drugs, drugs containing preservatives, or from residues from inadequate rinsing of detergents or other residues from surgical instruments.
(Corneal Decompensation, NCI Thesaurus)
Another disorder involving inadequate responses to hypoxia is preeclampsia, a pathology of pregnancy thought to be caused by improper differentiation of placental trophoblast cells due to poorly controlled O2 tension or improper hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-mediated responses.
(Hypoxia-Inducible Factor Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)
He would shriek for help on the most improper occasions,—as when we had a little dinner-party, or a few friends in the evening,—and would come tumbling out of the kitchen, with iron missiles flying after him.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
