The Dictionary definitions are below:
Modest = not excessively large, elaborate, or expensive.
Decent = appropriate; fitting
Please consider below sentences
He has a modest three bedroom house.
She is a very modest woman.
Can I replace the modest with decent in the above sentences? If not what is the difference between usage of decent and modest
He has a decent three bedroom house.
She is a very decent woman.
I have been observed there is some overlap between these two words. My question is how much overlap is there between these two? Are these are interchangeable always?
Best Answer
Modest and decent have overlapping semantic ranges. They can mean the same thing, but do not always. To further confuse things, they might get used in the same situation to highlight slightly different aspects of a thing.
Modest can mean behaving in a way that does not draw attention to oneself, of which clothed in such a way that it conforms with sexual norms is a specific case. It can also mean simple because simple things do not draw attention to themselves. From simple, the related meaning of not wealthy or not opulent emerges.
Decent can mean meeting expectations without having the connotation of exceeding them. It can also mean a morally good person, though not necessarily a heroic or saintly person.
Here we have the area where the two meanings overlap: they both imply good in a way that does not attract too much attention. But they are not always interchangeable.
So as to your sentences, I believe the average American reader would consider the sentences about the house to be more or less equivalent. The average American, though, would sense a slight difference in the sentences about the woman, because "decent" is a broader category than "modest". A woman might dress modestly, but lie, cheat, and gossip, none of her acquaintances would call her "decent".