Definition of POLITE

Examples of polite in a Sentence

It was polite of him to hold the door for them.
Please be polite to the guests.
It isn't polite to interrupt people when they're talking.
She received some polite applause despite the mistakes in her performance.

Recent Examples of polite from the Web

Michael Bond was the genial British author who created Paddington Bear, the polite, good-natured but disaster-prone little hero of some 20 books, a television series and a feature film.

— kansascity, kansascity.com, "Final Chapters: Michael Bond, Michael Nyqvist, Geri Allen, Anthony Young," 1 July 2017
Whatever intelligence the Trump administration had to show was enough to engender polite and cooperative responses from Britain and France.

— heather hurlburt, Daily Intelligencer, "Nothing About the White House’s Syria Announcement Was Normal," 28 June 2017
According to the The New York Times, after Trump threatened to pull out of NAFTA, our exceedingly polite neighbors implementing the novel foreign affairs strategy of ignoring him altogether.

— jay willis, GQ, "Canada Is Owning Donald Trump by Simply Ignoring Him," 23 June 2017
Some stroll through your body like polite tourists.

— kyle frischkorn, Smithsonian, "You Are What You Eat, And What You Eat is Millions of Microbes," 14 June 2017
The high school junior was unfailingly polite and risk-averse — like Gillespie himself, who has skipped some debates, favored controlled settings over public events and avoided weighing in on the Trump administration.

— laura vozzella, Washington Post, "Ready or not, Virginia is back at the center of the political universe," 10 June 2017
Hensarling — a polite and low-decibel conservative with a deadpan sense of humor and an occasionally sharp tongue — has become a tea party favorite by relentlessly striving to cut federal spending and shrink the federal government.

— jim puzzanghera, chicagotribune.com, "Fervent free-market ideology fuels Jeb Hensarling, the man who would slay Dodd-Frank reforms," 9 June 2017
Constand was direct and polite under cross-examination, even when Cosby lawyer Angela Agrusa's questioning grew pointed and accusatory.

— Bloomberg.com, "Cosby's Accuser Stands By Her Story Under Cross-examination," 7 June 2017
Well, the polite way of saying that is it’s just not true.

— mary ellen klas, kristen m. clark and steve bousquet, miamiherald, "Legislature’s session isn’t so special. It’s getting testy.," 7 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'polite.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of polite

Middle English (Scots) polit, Latin politus, from past participle of polire

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1500

See Words from the same year

polite Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of polite

civil, polite, courteous, gallant, chivalrous mean observant of the forms required by good breeding. civil often suggests little more than the avoidance of overt rudeness. owed the questioner a civil reply polite commonly implies polish of speech and manners and sometimes suggests an absence of cordiality. if you can't be pleasant, at least be polite courteous implies more actively considerate or dignified politeness. clerks who were unfailingly courteous to customers gallant and chivalrous imply courteous attentiveness especially to women. gallant suggests spirited and dashing behavior and ornate expressions of courtesy. a gallant suitor of the old school chivalrous suggests high-minded and self-sacrificing behavior. a chivalrous display of duty