discourtesy

American  

[dis-kur-tuh-see] / dɪsˈkɜr tə si /

noun

discourtesies plural

1. lack or breach of courtesy; incivility; rudeness.

2. a discourteous or impolite act.

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discourtesy British  

/ dɪsˈkɜːtɪsɪ /

noun

1. bad manners; rudeness

2. a rude remark or act

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• discourtesies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of discourtesy

First recorded in 1545–55; dis- ¹ + courtesy

Explanation

Discourtesy is acting in a rude or thoughtless way. If you yell orders at your restaurant server and leave him a small tip, you're treating him with extreme discourtesy. The noun discourtesy is a formal way to say "rudeness" or "disrespect." Cutting in line, interrupting others, chewing with your mouth wide open, being late for an important meeting — these are all examples of discourtesy. Courtesy means "elegance of manners" or "politeness," from a root meaning "courtly manners." When you add the prefix dis-, "the opposite of," you get discourtesy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

discourtesy discourtesies

While there was "room to dispute" the allegations, "I sincerely apologise for the great discourtesy I have caused the public," she added.

From Barron's ● Dec. 3, 2025

A vice foreign minister called in Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming and strongly protested what South Korea called "diplomatic discourtesy", the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.

From Reuters ● Apr. 20, 2023

Coast Guard vessel was denied permission to make a port call, another apparently intentional discourtesy.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 12, 2022

Between January 2017 and November 2020, 829 complaints, internal and external, were lodged against Tacoma police employees, most for unsatisfactory performance or discourtesy.

From Seattle Times ● May 8, 2022

I didn’t want Rufus having to face some creditor that I had angered with my twentieth-century brevity—which could come across as nineteenth-century abruptness, even discourtesy.

From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler

The movie chokes on its own dreary discourtesies.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 6, 2011

You note the weaknesses of officialdom, the discourtesies, the disregard and lack of respect for the people.

From Time Magazine Archive

C. Bagley, Teachers College, Columbia University, staunch worker for the Sterling-Reed Bill, evoked "a storm of applause" by denouncing Democratic and Republican discourtesies to education.

From Time Magazine Archive

Many knowing Burmese were forced to hide a snicker when they heard that Chou had filed an official complaint about discourtesies appearing in the Burmese press.

From Time Magazine Archive

There are homes whose daily life is marred by incessant petty strifes and discourtesies.

From Making the Most of Life by Miller, J. R. (James Russell)