Be-hā'vior, n.

(-hāv'yur), n. [See BEHAVE.] 1. Manner of behaving, whether good or bad; mode of conducting one's self; conduct; deportment. A gentleman that is very singular in his behavior. Steele. 2. Acting in a representative character. [Obs.] Thus after greeting speaks the king of France, In my behavior to the majesty The borrowed majesty of England here. Shak. To be, or to be put, upon one's good behavior, to be in a state of trial, in which something important depends on propriety of conduct. — During good behavior, during the integrity and fidelity of official conduct. Syn. — BEHAVIOR, CONDUCT. Behavior is the mode in which we have or bear ourselves in the presence of others or toward them; conduct is the mode of our leading ourselves forward in the concerns of life. Behavior respects our manner of acting in particular cases; conduct refers to the general tenor of our actions. We may say of soldiers, that their conduct had been praiseworthy during the whole campaign, and their behavior admirable in every instance when they met the enemy. Lest through thy wild behavior, I be misconstrued in the place I go to. Shak. What in the conduct of our life appears So well designed. Dryden.