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Comport and Behavior
With its prefix com-, "with", the Latin word comportare meant "to bring together". So it's easy to see how in English we could say that a college's policy comports with state law, or that a visit to your parents doesn't comport with your other weekend plans, or that your aunt and uncle won't listen to anything on TV that doesn't comport with their prejudices. The "behave" sense of the word comes through French, and its essential meaning is how a person "carries" him- or herself. So you may say, for instance, that your 17-year-old comported himself well (for once!) at the wedding reception, or that an ambassador always comports herself with dignity—that is, her comportment is always dignified—or that your class comported itself in a way that was a credit to the school.
Synonyms
Examples of comport in a Sentence
John Tamny, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
Others are unabashedly earnest in their enthusiasm, comporting the anachronistic typeface of Publishers Marketplace into new-media forms: dancing around it enthusiastically in a TikTok green screen, posting it alongside baby photos of themselves.
—Jordan Michelman, The Atlantic, 21 Nov. 2024
Ryan Fonsecastaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2022
The case could result in substantial changes, as the plaintiffs are challenging whether the amounts and method of distribution of the annual education subsidies issued by the General Assembly comport with the state Constitution.
—From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 28 July 2022
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Dictionary Entries Near comport
Cite this Entry
“Comport.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comport. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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