courteous
Americanadjective
adjective
Related Words
See civil.
Other Word Forms
- courteously adverb
- courteousness noun
- overcourteous adjective
- overcourteously adverb
- overcourteousness noun
- pseudocourteous adjective
- pseudocourteously adverb
- quasi-courteous adjective
- quasi-courteously adverb
Etymology
Origin of courteous
1225–75; court + -eous; replacing Middle English co ( u ) rteis < Anglo-French; court, -ese
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Our quiz said the most courteous thing to do is to keep them on even if it isn’t required.
And, he added, we do still need to encourage passengers to be courteous to flight crews and each other.
From BBC
It was not the first time she had helped with her mistress’s correspondence, for Lady Constance received a great many invitations, all of which had to be accepted or declined in courteous handwritten notes.
From Literature
She said she "tried to stay courteous and calm", but told the jury she was "stunned" by the approach.
From BBC
Mr Sawyer told me he does not mind people walking along the beach as long as they were "courteous and respectful".
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
