discourteous

adjective

dis·​cour·​te·​ous (ˌ)dis-ˈkər-tē-əs How to pronounce discourteous (audio)
: lacking courtesy : rude
discourteously adverb
discourteousness noun

Examples of discourteous in a Sentence

The waiter was discourteous to me. It was thoughtless and discourteous to leave us waiting so long.
Recent Examples on the Web Lane’s complaint alleged the off-duty officers were discourteous and unprofessional and violated body-camera policies. Kelli Smith, Dallas News, 16 Aug. 2023 More:Louisville Metro Police Department illegally withholding, destroying records, group says The most common complaint was that officers were rude or discourteous, which appeared on 56 of the documents. Josh Wood, The Courier-Journal, 30 May 2023 One officer, Mark Vaughn, faced departmental charges for unnecessary and/or excessive force and discourteous/unprofessional conduct. Sean Lahman, USA TODAY, 6 Oct. 2022 The maxim that wearing white to a wedding is discourteous holds true today. Sarah Lyon, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2022 Officer Mark Vaughn was cited for unnecessary or excessive force and discourteous/unprofessional conduct, the department said last year. Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 6 Oct. 2022 People with disabilities have long criticized Comic-Con for discourteous treatment and insensitivity. Mike Freeman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 July 2022 Translation: Don't be discourteous as people undermine your human rights. Grayson Quay, The Week, 10 May 2022 He was written up for being discourteous and not demonstrating good conduct. Taylor Pettaway, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Mar. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'discourteous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1561, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of discourteous was in 1561

Dictionary Entries Near discourteous

Cite this Entry

“Discourteous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discourteous. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

discourteous

adjective
dis·​cour·​te·​ous (ˈ)dis-ˈkərt-ē-əs How to pronounce discourteous (audio)
: not polite : uncivil, rude
discourteously adverb
discourteousness noun

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