polite
Americanadjective
adjective
-
showing regard for others, in manners, speech, behaviour, etc; courteous
-
cultivated or refined
polite society
-
elegant or polished
polite letters
Synonym Usage
See civil.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of polite
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin polītus, past participle of polīre “to polish”; see polish
Explanation
Polite means showing regards for others in manners, speech, and behavior. Since you are a polite dinner guest, you thank the host for inviting you and, even though you think the chicken is not cooked to perfection, you tell her you are enjoying the meal. The adjective polite comes from the mid-13th century Latin politus, which means "refined" or "elegant." Showing consideration for others, using tact, and observing social norms are the qualities of being polite. The opposite of polite is rude. Because the poet E.E. Cummings thought imagination is most important, he wrote, “Knowledge is a polite word for dead but not buried imagination.”
Vocabulary lists containing polite
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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.
See Examples For:
"We've been brought up with this ridiculous 'good girl' stuff… indoctrinated in this idea of being good, polite, kind, thoughtful, caring," she says.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Pike, he said, had helped the execution team find a vein in her arm, and she was kind and polite while she was being injected.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
“They are so polite; I get tired of being called ‘ma’am.’”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
A couple years before Pinterest delivered this revelation to me, chef Roy Choi gave me another version of the same permission — only a little less polite.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
“She was remarkably fast. And quite a lovely bird,” she added, to be polite.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
An 18-year-old woman said ghosting was “a little bit politer way to reject someone than to directly say, ‘I do not want to chat with you.’
From Washington Post ● Jul. 25, 2022
And the video has so many star cameos it feels like a politer version of that misbegotten cover of “Imagine.”
From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2020
"This is a politer was of saying 'hysteria,'" Traister tweeted.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2018
She admires various classical and modern dancers and choreographers and works, but her own dancers enact a brash and pitiless system of movement that disdains and subverts politer forms.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 22, 2015
‘Don’t believe what strangers say of themselves either! I am not a fighter. But it would be politer in any case for the challenger to say who he is.’
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Describing the comments, Evans continued: "The comment thread was 'traitors', 'taxis for migrants', they were some of the politest ones."
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Ebert, also 39, is the politest, a kind force who, 17 years later, remains the new guy after Johnson and Knobbe formed the band a year before.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026
“The politest way is to enlist the aid of the flight attendants,” says Jodi RR Smith, an etiquette consultant.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024
This was an extended hand from a man I have come to think of as my politest critic.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 2, 2019
“That is about the politest way you could put it.”
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
