behove

Be fitting for

Behove is the British spelling of behoove, a verb meaning to be necessary or proper for someone to do something.

It appears almost exclusively in the construction it behoves someone to do something, suggesting moral obligation or practical wisdom: It behoves us to consider the consequences before acting.

The word has an old-fashioned or formal tone and is relatively uncommon in everyday speech, though it persists in written English, particularly in British usage.

obligation

duty

Required moral task

incumbent · ought · must · should · fitting · proper · appropriate · needful · requisite · mandate

propriety

decorum

Fitting social conduct

seemliness · fittingness · appropriateness · correctness · decency · dignity · respectability · protocol · civility · politeness

Opposites
obligation and propriety

behovebe wrong

Hold an incorrect belief

demean

Family

behoove, behoves, behooved, behoved, behoof

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Timeless · Abstract · Everyday, not technical · Rated G