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polite

[puh-lahyt]

Example Sentences Origin

adjective, -lit·er, -lit·est.

showing good manners toward others, as in behavior, speech, etc.; courteous; civil: a polite reply.

refined or cultured: polite society.

of a refined or elegant kind: polite learning.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin polītus, past participle of polīre to polish

Related forms

po·lite·ly, adverb

po·lite·ness, noun

su·per·po·lite, adjective

su·per·po·lite·ly, adverb

su·per·po·lite·ness, noun

Synonyms
1. well-bred, gracious. See civil. 2. urbane, polished, poised, courtly, cultivated.

Antonyms
1, 2. rude.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To polite

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Polite is always a great word to know.

So is ort. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

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Example Sentences

They leave some personal space even as a crowd approaches the stage, which makes it easier for people on the move to be polite.

In our teaching-centered culture, it isn't really polite to brag about one's publications.

But plenty of so-called polite behaviour in real life is anything but.

EXPAND

They leave some personal space even as a crowd approaches the stage, which makes it easier for people on the move to be polite.

In our teaching-centered culture, it isn't really polite to brag about one's publications.

But plenty of so-called polite behaviour in real life is anything but.

In polite society, flatulence is often a social faux pas-especially when issued deliberately.

Eye contact is a key element of polite conversation.

The rest of the staff stood in awe and kept a polite distance.

Good manners are basically how polite you are to your environment and friends.

But if you're asked to check your bag early in the boarding process, you might consider a bit of polite resistance.

Americans are polite in public because of the high rate of gun ownership.

Canadian hospitality is a polite reversal of the norm.

At no point does the chairman appear in the video, or appear to do anything except be polite about receiving an unsolicited gift.

There are three things one should never discuss in polite company: religion, politics, and videogames as art.

All you have to do is be honest, polite and gracious.

That's a polite way of saying that politicians are notorious for their selective use of statistics.

To be more polite about it, it was the bay getting ready to bloom.

It's no longer acceptable in polite society to kill someone because they killed your brother.

His serious and polite nature is easy to misinterpret as indifference, but these still waters run deep indeed.

Because so many people neglect to send anything, the polite people who do stand out and are remembered.

In fact, this is still a carve-up, if a more polite one.

Puzzled by our polite refusals, they then tried to ply us with alcohol and marijuana.

But you of course have no inherent right to expect a polite reaction.

Now, if only there were a way to pay car-drivers to be polite to cyclists.

He received a polite hearing in both countries, but no more.

He dismissed my questions of the past with polite laughter.

Throughout history, science has been rather polite to religion.

The man gives a polite but vague answer, then turns and dives into the waves.

He gave the notes to the importuning officials as a polite way of saying no.

He was polite and dealt with the bull until it got too ridiculous.

Please respect each other and have a polite conversation.

It didn't stop him from mentioning the available incentives every three minutes, but he was polite about it.

Or it could be a polite invitation to seek work outside of their jurisdiction.

Please, when answering comments, make sure you are polite to the people who wrote it.

People are more polite on certain social media outlets than others.

He is polite and calm around everyone he meets and loves to snuggle.

The idea is not, as has been suggested, an effort to make us more polite drivers.

Polite wrote two novels, which were known for their lush, poetic language and extensive use of monologues.

Even if you are not interested in the job, it is polite to say thank you for their.

Being polite does not stop you being freezingly rude, or warmheartedly friendly.

It was a polite way of telling politicians that the country could do even better if they kept their hands out of the till.

Residents surrounded the dozens of police in a polite standoff, offering tea and water but keeping them away from the work site.

There is no need to wait, or be polite about it, shove your way to the front of the line and buy a few.

Being kind and polite is a big aspect but also verbal comments are critical.

At that point, you've been polite and that's the end of it.

It seems, however, that mothers still want their daughters to stand up straight and make polite conversation.

At one time, polite people never asked to look at their own medical records.

Think of it as the hysterical upgrading of ugly visions of the future already found in polite critiques of higher ed.

It's a polite way of indicating that a strident minority are bored.

If you have a request at an interview, be polite and simply ask.

It works well when dealing with the hum-drum routine of royal visits, photo-shoots and polite chat with the press.

She was confident and polite and often offered her belly for a rub.

Ecologists tend to use polite rational scientific descriptions of environmental problems.

The music is mostly instrumental, and mostly polite.

If you want to be polite and fancy to everyone, go ahead.

Many even had to endure training sessions in how to be polite to the public.

In the meantime, big media's method of polite rude was working in the rest of the world.

It is too small, too superficial, too polite and in some ways misleading.

Polite society papers over feelings, conflicts and truth.

Somehow that voice shouldn't come out of that polite but unremarkable face.

Milosevic's biography and thought it only polite to let him know.

But this amounts to polite throat-clearing compared with the outrage on the other side of the pond.

Younger mothers say they are determined to raise children who know what it means to be polite.

Spokesmen for the construction industry say that their members were merely a bit dim and trying to be polite by bidding.

Politeness comes at a price, however, if you find the people you must be polite to either stupid or obnoxious.

Olson points out that the handle is made of oosic, which is a polite way to say mineralized walrus penis:.

As for the rest, the majority, it might have been polite to ask.

In this case, that action is simply being polite to others.

Its not polite to say, but trying to plan for every contingency will only acomplish being prepared for none.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

polite (pəˈlaɪt)

—*adj*
1.	showing regard for others, in manners, speech, behaviour, etc; courteous
2.	cultivated or refined: polite society
3.	elegant or polished: polite letters

[C15: from Latin polītus polished; see polish]

po'litely

—*adv*

po'liteness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

polite

1263, from L. politus "refined, elegant," lit. "polished," pp. of polire "to polish, to make smooth." Used literally at first in Eng.; sense of "elegant, cultured" is first recorded 1501, that of "behaving courteously" is 1762.

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"He is so polite!"MYes, he is always prepared with a biscuit for Cerberus and is so timid that he assumes everyone is Cerberus, even you and me—that is his "politeness."

-Friedrich Nietzsche

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