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:
Yet the polite, respectful man we saw holding doors open and thanking court staff was in striking contrast to how he was portayed in the evidence we heard.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
But even the most polite superficial friendships can slowly rot from the inside.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2026
Music of the margins — which before neoperreo was punk rock and hip-hop — had been framed in opposition to polite society.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Despite the polite crowd at my screening, I wondered if questionable theater etiquette came into play elsewhere.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
Zeke was poor, though mostly everyone was too polite to mention it.
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
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
In fact, the politer our discourse is in general, the more dramatic the effect when breaking the rules of politeness becomes necessary.
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2018
"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
Although Harry watched his two friends more closely over the next few days, Ron and Hermione did not seem any different except that they were a little politer to each other than usual.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
There are some wonderful communicators in this Scotland team but, in the politest sense, they're fed up communicating and are just desperate to start delivering.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 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
The journalist Stanley Booth, in his book “The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones,” about the glory and the depravity of the band’s 1969 American tour, described Watts as “the world’s politest man.”
From New York Times ● Aug. 24, 2021
And let’s face it, middle school students aren’t the politest people on the planet.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
