police
/pəˈlis/
nounverb
Core
1.n.the force of policemen and officers
“the law came looking for him”
2.v.maintain the security of by carrying out a patrol
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police and polite differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. police means “the force of policemen and officers”. polite means “showing regard for others in manners, speech, behavior, etc.”. police is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/pəˈlis/
1.n.the force of policemen and officers
“the law came looking for him”
2.v.maintain the security of by carrying out a patrol
/pəˈlaɪt/
1.adj.showing regard for others in manners, speech, behavior, etc.
2.adj.marked by refinement in taste and manners
“cultivated speech”
3.adj.not rude; marked by satisfactory (or especially minimal) adherence to social usages and sufficient but not noteworthy consideration for others
“even if he didn't like them he should have been civil”
| police | polite | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /pəˈlis/ | /pəˈlaɪt/ |
| Said | puh-LEES | puh-LAHYT |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 6 | 6 |
| Parts of speech | noun, verb | adjective |
| Senses | 2 | 3 |
| How common | Core | Common |
| Synonyms | police force, constabulary, law | none recorded |
Full entry for police · Full entry for polite · More comparisons