Literary notes about improper (AI summary)
Writers employ the term "improper" in multifaceted ways, often to signal deviation from accepted norms—be they moral, social, or practical. In historical narratives and classical literature, it frequently denotes actions or behaviors that breach established codes of conduct or decorum, as seen when behaviors are critiqued as unseemly or dishonorable ([1], [2], [3]). In more contemporary contexts, the word is extended to describe conduct, language, or even technical practices that fall short of expected standards, such as when actions are deemed unsuitable for polite society or a given institutional context ([4], [5], [6]). Whether addressing personal missteps, social etiquette, or misapplications of power, "improper" remains a flexible term that helps authors delineate boundaries between what is acceptable and what is not.
- Their instructions from the emperor were, to expunge whatever they thought improper, but upon no account to make any addition.
— from The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius - This, however, I regard as a highly improper act—this act of staking Draupadi.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - But being made a friend, and asked by thee, O friend, I will answer thee, although self-praise without reason is ever improper.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - “Well, just suppose I was walking with Mama or Rone, and somebody passed a slighting remark or used improper language.
— from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis - If bounties are as improper as I have endeavoured to prove them to be, the sooner they cease, and the lower they are, so much the better.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith - The company had been suspected of restraining the trade and of establishing some sort of improper monopoly.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
