Meaning & use
deportment lessons
Last updated
Meaning
nounpluralformalold-fashioned
Classes that teach people, especially young people, how to stand, walk, and behave in a polite and correct way.
Grammar: Always plural in this phrase; a single class is 'a deportment lesson'.
Patterns
- take deportment lessons
- give deportment lessons
- deportment lessons in something
In the 1950s, many young women took deportment lessons to learn how to walk gracefully.
The school offered deportment lessons as part of its finishing course.
He joked that he needed deportment lessons after tripping on stage.
Common combinations
- take deportment lessons
- She took deportment lessons for a year before her first job interview.
- give deportment lessons
- The retired ballet dancer now gives deportment lessons to teenagers.
- deportment lessons for children
- The community center runs deportment lessons for children during the summer.
- a course of deportment lessons
- A course of deportment lessons was included in the program.
Synonyms and how they differ
- etiquette classes
- More common today and focuses on social rules and manners rather than physical posture.
- manners lessons
- Similar but usually about polite behavior and speech, not how you carry yourself.
- finishing school
- A whole school or program, not just the lessons; often for upper-class young women in the past.
Word family
- deportment noun
- The way a person stands and moves; the subject taught in these lessons.
- deport verb
- To behave in a particular way (formal, rare); not related to sending someone out of a country.
Commonly confused: deportment lessons or department?
deportment lessons vs department
A department is a division of a company or government; deportment is about posture and behavior. They sound similar but are different words.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'deportment lessons' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Deportment lessons teach posture and polite behavior, so option A fits. The others describe unrelated subjects.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “deportment lessons”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.