Politeness

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Politeness \Po*lite"ness\, n.
     1. High finish; smoothness; burnished elegance. [R.]
        --Evelyn.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The quality or state of being polite; refinement of


        manners; urbanity; courteous behavior; complaisance;
        obliging attentions.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Courtesy; good breeding; refinement; urbanity;
          courteousness; affability; complaisance; civility;
          gentility; courtliness.
  
     Usage: {Politeness}, {Courtesy}. Politeness denotes that ease
            and gracefulness of manners which first sprung up in
            cities, connected with a desire to please others by
            anticipating their wants and wishes, and studiously
            avoiding whatever might give them pain. Courtesy is,
            etymologically, the politeness of courts. It displays
            itself in the address and manners; it is shown more
            especially in receiving and entertaining others, and
            is a union of dignified complaisance and kindness.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  politeness
       n 1: a courteous manner that respects accepted social usage [syn:
             {niceness}] [ant: {impoliteness}]
       2: the act of showing regard for others [syn: {civility}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  49 Moby Thesaurus words for "politeness":
     affability, agreeableness, amenities, amenity, civilities,
     civility, comity, complaisance, considerateness, convention,
     courteousness, courtesy, courtliness, decencies, decorum,
     deference, diplomatic code, elegance, elegancies, etiquette,
     exquisite manners, formalities, good form, good manners,
     gracefulness, graciousness, manners, mores, natural politeness,
     point of etiquette, politesse, proprieties, protocol, punctilio,
     quiet good manners, respect, respectfulness, rules of conduct,
     social code, social conduct, social graces, social procedures,
     social usage, solicitousness, solicitude, tact, tactfulness,
     thoughtfulness, urbanity
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  POLITENESS, n.  The most acceptable hypocrisy.