over-polite

adjective

Excessively polite.

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Meanings

adjectiveover-polite (comparative more over-polite, superlative most over-polite)

comparative more over-polite · superlative most over-polite

  1. Excessively polite.

    She can communicate both of these intentions simultaneously by using an over-polite request such as "Would you mind if I asked you to keep the windows closed, please?" Such unexpectedly over-polite utterances are often interpreted as ironic.

    2007, Raymond W. Gibbs, Herbert L. Colston, Irony in Language and Thought

Origin

From over- + polite.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

over-polite. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/over-polite

MLA

“over-polite.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/over-polite. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “over-polite,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/over-polite.

Source: over-polite on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.