adj., -lit·er, -lit·est.
- Marked by or showing consideration for others, tact, and observance of accepted social usage.
- Refined; elegant: polite society.
[Middle English polit, polished, from Latin polītus, past participle of polīre, to polish. See polish.]
politely po·lite'ly adv.politeness po·lite'ness n.
SYNONYMS polite, mannerly, civil, courteous, genteel. These adjectives mean mindful of, conforming to, or marked by good manners. Polite and mannerly imply consideration for others and the adherence to conventional social standards of good behavior: "It costs nothing to be polite" (Winston S. Churchill). The child was scolded by his grandmother for not being more mannerly. Civil suggests only the barest observance of accepted social usages; it often means merely neither polite nor rude: If you can't be friendly, at least be civil. Courteous implies courtliness and dignity: "If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world" (Francis Bacon). Genteel, which originally meant well-bred, now usually suggests excessive and affected refinement: "A man, indeed, is not genteel when he gets drunk" (James Boswell).
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