courtly
Americanadjective
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polite, refined, or elegant.
courtly manners.
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flattering; obsequious.
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noting, pertaining to, or suitable for the court of a sovereign.
adverb
adjective
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of or suitable for a royal court
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refined in manner
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ingratiating
Other Word Forms
- courtliness noun
Etymology
Origin of courtly
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.
The limpid four-movement ballet is both courtly and casual, with its intricately evolving choreographic patterns gently beguiling, as if seen in a crystalline hall of mirrors.
Though it stretched for more than two centuries, it’s an era best known for Elizabeth I and Shakespeare, stiff ruffs and courtly processions.
“Eastward, Westward” is the opposite of congratulatory: It is courtly and self-effacing.
That Rococo quartet, completed in 1755, is a survey in the soft opulence of the style, filled with idealized nature, rich fabrics and scenes of courtly romance.
Here, onstage at the Paradise club in Boston, his singing has a courtly charm that makes “She’s Got a Way” feel like Joel’s version of Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.
