politeness

polite +‎ -ness.

• IPA^(key): /pəˈlaɪtnəs/

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• Hyphenation: po‧lite‧ness

politeness (usually uncountable, plural politenesses)

1. The quality of being polite.
2. An act of politeness.
   • 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 145:

     These politenesses left Miss Marley floundering for initiative, holding Jasper and being solemnly inspected by Podson, who clearly depended on her the convention of an afternoon call.

• (the act of being polite): affability, civility, courtesy, courtliness, etiquette

• (antonym(s) of “the act of being polite”): impoliteness, rudeness