Meaning of polite in English

polite

adjective

/pəˈlaɪt/ us

/pəˈlaɪt/

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behaving in a way that is socially correct and shows understanding of and care for other people's feelings:

I'm afraid I wasn't very polite to her.

She sent me a polite letter thanking me for my invitation.

He was too polite to point out my mistake.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

polite

politeHe was always such a polite child.
courteousAlthough she often disagreed with me, she was always courteous.
respectfulHe was respectful towards his elders.
well manneredThey were quiet, well mannered children.
chivalrousHe held open the door in that chivalrous way of his.

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Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

well behaved

well behavedOur kids are normally well behaved.
goodBe a good girl and sit quietly.
as good as goldThe babysitter said Arlo had been as good as gold.
angelTeddy is a little angel.
obedientHe always tried his best to be an obedient son.

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socially correct rather than friendly:

polite conversation

polite society/company old-fashioned or humorous

people who have been taught how to behave in a socially correct way:

in polite society/company Sex never used to be discussed in polite society.

More examplesFewer examples

She was polite but not excessively so.
"Try to be polite to him." "Like hell I will!"
He was unusually polite.
He's usually quite polite in my presence.
They're very polite in your presence, but you get the feeling they're laughing up their sleeves.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Polite and respectful

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Behaving well

Related word

politeness

Grammar

Being polite or less direct

We sometimes use a past verb form to talk about present time, in order to be more polite or less direct: …

Things in the past that are still true

Sometimes we use past verb forms to refer to things which were true or which happened in the past, even when they are still true now: …

Past: typical errors

We use the past simple, not the past continuous, to talk about past habits: …

Politeness

Politeness is about keeping good relations with your listener or reader. There are two types of politeness …

Politeness: showing respect

There are many ways in which we can show that we value and respect our listener or reader. In more formal situations, we are especially careful to use certain polite phrases: …

Politeness: making what we say less direct

When we speak and write, we usually try not to be too direct. There are a number of ways in which we can do this. …

Politeness: what is impolite?

Being direct is impolite so we need to be careful when using direct forms. …

(Definition of polite from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

polite | American Dictionary

polite

adjective

/pəˈlɑɪt/

Add to word list Add to word list

behaving in a way that is socially correct and shows respect for other people’s feelings:

She was too polite to point out my mistake.

politely

adverb us

/pəˈlɑɪt·li/

He politely asked them to leave.

politeness

noun [ U ] us

/pəˈlɑɪt·nəs/

With unfailing politeness he answered their questions.

(Definition of polite from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of polite

polite

With engineers and administrators he was always polite and exceedingly friendly.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The seminar quietly finessed the definitional question, not without a few polite demurs.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Their approaches to these senior figures were invariably polite and deferential, at least initially.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In general, the findings show that, although non-contentious or polite options are available for giving criticism, the critics often chose a more confrontational alternative.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Based on the range of historically minded research, the picture of polite culture that emerges is composite.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

I enjoy both the elegant and the clumsy, the simple and the complicated, the polite and the vulgar.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

We all sound a little more polite in front of our parents than we do in the schoolyard.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The signs that are changing, like the spoken words that are dropping out of polite usage, are often terms for various ethnic groups.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

However, it is important not to map polite society in any mechanical way against the social hierarchy.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It sounds like the very polite appellation of an earnest speaker trying not to offend on a topic which they quite possibly find offensive.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Whether the "guests" are who they say they are or not, all of them know that they are not expected to be polite.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

What is meant and perceived as polite in a given context, however, will depend on judgments of appropriateness and markedness.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Perhaps manufacturers became progressively frozen out of land-based polite society.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

He was cordial and polite enough, but when he got into a jam with people, he became nasty.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The moods available for selection are: polite (the default mood), informal, humorous and angry moods.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of polite

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of polite?

Translations of polite

in Chinese (Traditional)

有禮貌的, 斯文的，文雅的…

in Chinese (Simplified)

有礼貌的, 斯文的，文雅的…

in Spanish

educado, atento, correcto…

in Portuguese

educado, atencioso, educado/-da…

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in Italian

नम्र, विनयशील / लोकांच्या भावनांची जाण, आणि त्यांच्याप्रति काळजी दाखवणारी सामाजिक रित्या योग्य वागणूक…

礼儀正しい, 丁寧な, 礼儀正（れいぎただ）しい…

kibar, nazik, terbiyeli…

poli/-ie, poli…

educat, atent, correcte…

beleefd…

சமூக ரீதியாக சரியான மற்றும் மற்றவர்களின் உணர்வுகளைப் பற்றிய புரிதலையும் கவனிப்பையும் காட்டும் வகையில் நடந்துகொள்வது, நட்பை ரீதியை விட சமூக ரீதியே சரியானது…

विनम्र, सुसभ्य, शिष्ट…

સભ્ય, સંસ્કારી, વિવેક…

velopdragen, høflig…

artig, hövlig…

sopan…

höflich…