politeadjective
uk/pəˈlaɪt/us/pəˈlaɪt/A2 behaving in a way that is socially correct and shows understanding of and care for other people's feelings:
I'm afraid I wasn't very polite to her.
She sent me a polite letter thanking me for my invitation.
He was too polite to point out my mistake.
socially correct rather than friendly:
polite conversation
polite society/company old-fashioned or humorous
people who have been taught how to behave in a socially correct way:
Sex never used to be discussed in polite society.
More examples
- She was polite but not excessively so.
- "Try to be polite to him." "Like hell I will!"
- He was unusually polite.
- He's usually quite polite in my presence.
- They're very polite in your presence, but you get the feeling they're laughing up their sleeves.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Polite and respectful
- chivalrous
- chivalry
- civil
- civility
- civilized
- civilly
- courtly
- couth
- deferential
- euphemism
- gallant
- gentlemanly
- gracious
- keep a civil tongue in your head idiom
- politely
- politically correct
- refined
- respect
- respectful
- respectfully
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Behaving well
politeness
noun [ U ] uk/pəˈlaɪt.nəs/us/pəˈlaɪt.nəs/