Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

polite

/pəˈlaɪt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.92 in modern English

Syllables: po-lite
IPA: /pəˈlaɪt/

8

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Well-mannered, civilized.

adj

Smooth, polished, burnished.

Obsolete

verb

To polish; to refine; to render polite.

Obsolete; Transitive verb

name

Example Sentences

"It's not polite to use a mobile phone in a restaurant."
"Try and be polite to Auntie Maria for once."
"He marries, bows at court, and grows polite."
"I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite."
"rays of light […]falling on […]a polite surface"
"those exercises plied, which polite men's spirits"

Etymology

From Latin polītus (“polished”), past participle of poliō (“to polish, smooth”); see polish.

Word Breakdown

Root: *pel- (beat)

Usage

Inflected Forms

politer (comparative) more polite (comparative) politest (superlative) most polite (superlative) polites (present, singular) politing (participle, present) polited (participle, past) polited (past) Polites (plural)

Derived Forms

nonpolite overpolite politeful politely politeness politesome superpolite unpolite

Phrases

over-polite polite fiction polite literature polite notice polite society

Frequently Paired Words

polish friendly kindly

Synonyms

civil gracious civilized complaisant correct courteous cultivated fair-mannered genteel mannerly polished polite

Antonyms

impolite rude bad-mannered ill-mannered

Rhymes With

right might night white light quite fight site non-white write tonight despite

Questions

How do you pronounce polite?: The recorded pronunciation is /pəˈlaɪt/.
What does polite mean?: Well-mannered, civilized.
Where does polite come from?: From Latin polītus (“polished”), past participle of poliō (“to polish, smooth”); see polish.

How to pronounce polite

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “polite”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pəˈlaɪt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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