civility
Polite and respectful behavior or way of speaking to other people.
Polite and respectful behavior or speech, especially in everyday social interactions.
A small thing you say or do to be polite, often because it is the normal social rule.
A small act or remark that is polite and socially expected, especially as part of formal or surface-level interaction.
Polite and calm behavior when people talk in public or in politics, even when they disagree.
A general standard of politeness, respect, and restraint in public discussion, debate, or political life.
- Base: civility
- Plural: civilities, civility
a return to civility
1going back to polite behavior
A change back to more polite and respectful behavior, especially in public life or discussions.
- Many people are hoping for a return to civility in public debates.
- After months of angry posts, the group finally saw a return to civility online.
basic civility
1minimum expected politeness
The simplest and smallest amount of politeness that people normally expect from each other.
- Holding the door open is just basic civility.
- He failed to show even basic civility to the staff.
civility and respect
1polite and respectful conduct
Polite and respectful behavior shown together, often named as important values.
- The school promotes a culture of civility and respect among students.
- Our workplace policy is based on civility and respect for all employees.
common civility
1ordinary expected politeness
The normal polite behavior that most people think is simply what you should do.
- It is just common civility to say thank you.
- Out of common civility, she wrote back to acknowledge the message.
exchange civilities
1trade polite greetings or remarks
To say a few polite things to each other, like greetings, often before talking about something serious.
- They exchanged civilities in the hallway before entering the conference room.
- We exchanged a few civilities and then moved on to the real topic.
the usual civilities
1the typical polite actions
The normal polite words or actions that people often use at the start or end of a meeting or conversation.
- After the usual civilities, the two leaders began their private talks.
- She quickly went through the usual civilities before raising her complaint.
treat [someone] with civility
1behave politely toward someone
To be polite and respectful to someone in how you act and speak.
- Even if you disagree, you should treat your colleagues with civility.
- The manager asked everyone to treat customers with civility at all times.