His features are strong and masculine …, all his motions graceful, and his deportment majestic. Jonathan Swift
Did you know?
Deportment evolved from the verb deport, meaning "to behave especially in accord with a code," which in turn came to us through Middle French from Latin deportare, meaning "to carry away." (You may also know deport as a verb meaning "to send out of the country"; that sense is newer and is derived directly from Latin deportare.) Deportment can simply refer to one's demeanor, or it can refer to behavior formed by breeding or training and often conforming to conventional rules of propriety: "Are you not gratified that I am so rapidly gaining correct ideas of female propriety and sedate deportment?" wrote 17-year-old Emily Dickinson to her brother Austin.
bearing is the most general of these words but now usually implies characteristic posture.
a woman of regal bearing
deportment suggests actions or behavior as formed by breeding or training.
your deportment was atrocious
demeanor suggests one's attitude toward others as expressed in outward behavior.
the haughty demeanor of the headwaiter
mien is a literary term referring both to bearing and demeanor.
a mien of supreme self-satisfaction
manner implies characteristic or customary way of moving and gesturing and addressing others.
the imperious manner of a man used to giving orders
carriage applies chiefly to habitual posture in standing or walking.
the kind of carriage learned at boarding school
Example Sentences
The new students were instructed in proper dress and deportment. His stiff deportment matched his strict demeanor.
Recent Examples on the WebThe Taliban show no sign of easing a crackdown not only on such basic rights as education and jobs for women, but on every facet of public life, from deportment to travel. David Zucchino, BostonGlobe.com, 21 May 2022 Those were apparently old and quaint rules of deportment. John Zogby, Forbes, 22 Apr. 2022 Membership is determined by a student’s scholastic achievement, attendance, deportment, participation in career-technical student organizations and teacher recommendations. Carol Kovach, cleveland, 18 Apr. 2022 More on the deportment of the Americans and British in a bit, but for now how could American and British leaders have been so easily duped? John Tamny, Forbes, 13 Apr. 2022 And for business leaders, tasked with leading people through tough times, Zalenskyy's deportment offers lessons that are transferable even when the stakes aren't as high. Aman Kidwai, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2022 Flame Show Bar, Gordy had his performers tutored in deportment.Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2021 But where Navalny’s public presentation is cocky, droll, and irreverent, Sobol has the deportment of a straight-A student, a tireless nerd. Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 19 July 2021 Something in their door-to-door deportment, their earnestness and brio, seemed a soft rebuke to my own disenchantment. Andrew Kay, Longreads, 17 July 2021 See More