Meanings
comparative more politely · superlative most politely
- In a polite manner.
If pressed about a serious accusation like rape, you can politely reply that you can’t answer questions pertaining to such an allegation without legal representation and wish to remain silent.
1 more example
It was night once more and Mary had got through another day without throwing herself politely from a top floor window or scrawling filthy words on the dining room walls.
1986, John le Carré, A Perfect SpySynonyms: civilly
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbIn a polite manner.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Englishpolite
- Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
- Proto-Germanic*līką
- Englishpolitely
Translations
Catalan cortesament
- cortesamentin a polite manner
Czech zdvořile
- zdvořilein a polite manner
French poliment
- polimentin a polite manner
Hindi सविनय
- सविनय (savinay)in a polite manner
Hungarian udvariasan
- udvariasanin a polite manner
Italian educatamente
- educatamentein a polite manner
Latin cōmiter
- cōmiterin a polite manner
Polish grzecznie, kulturalnie
- grzeczniein a polite manner
- kulturalniein a polite manner
Romanian politicos
- politicosin a polite manner
Russian ве́жливо
- ве́жливо (véžlivo)in a polite manner
Spanish educadamente, cortésmente
- educadamentein a polite manner
- cortésmentein a polite manner
Turkish kibarca
- kibarcain a polite manner
Ukrainian вві́чливо
- вві́чливо (vvíčlyvo)in a polite manner
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with politely
All rhymes →Cite this entry
politely. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/politely
“politely.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/politely. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “politely,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/politely.
Source: politely on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.