What's the difference between courteous and debonair?

Courteous


Definition:

  • (a.) Of courtlike manners; pertaining to, or expressive of, courtesy; characterized by courtesy; civil; obliging; well bred; polite; affable; complaisant.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) As a person, she was always kind and courteous and as a leader she was steely and determined.
  • (2) None of the backbench questions where MPs often raise serious problems that tend to be dealt with courteously by the prime minister of the day (although regrettably often neither side can resist point-scoring) ever make it beyond Today in Parliament .
  • (3) Praising the protesters for their conduct during the hearing, he said: "Whilst I recognise that this outcome will be disappointing to the defendants, I wish to pay tribute to all who participated in the hearing for the courteous and helpful way in which they conducted themselves."
  • (4) From the typed letters on Clarence House notepaper underlined in his own hand, to the clever blend of courteousness and implied threat used in his own correspondence and by his righthand man, Sir Michael Peat, the case has revealed in detail how the prince wields his power.
  • (5) Referring to the protesters, he said: "Whilst I recognise that this outcome will be disappointing to the defendants, I wish to pay tribute to all who participated in the hearing for the courteous and helpful way in which they conducted themselves."
  • (6) It is noted that: 1) both GPs and clinics have their value in contraceptive treatment; 2) clinics should be conveniently located and might be set up in buildings which are used for other health purposes at other times; 3) most women work so there should be evening sessions; 4) arrangements should be made which include both an appointments system and emergency visits; 5) reception at the clinic should be courteous and without moral judgements; 6) domiciliary services should be used only as a last resort; and 7) payment of prescription charges is now required, but there might be advantages in changing this to a free service.
  • (7) Half of each sample rated the average driver in their age group and the average driver in the opposite age group as regarded thirty-three attitudes promoting safe driving, twenty courteous safe driving behaviors and eleven discourteous, unsafe driving behaviors.
  • (8) Both companies have pointed out the human error inherent in more than 90% of traffic accidents; Chris Urmson, director of Google’s project, said last year that ultimately the goal is for its cars to be “more courteous and more defensive drivers” than human beings.
  • (9) When Murphy resumed his 100-town tour off Edinburgh’s Princes Street on Tuesday he was energetic and courteous, praising both sides for their patriotism: “No one in this debate is a traitor, no one is a quisling.” The remark was directed at angry, even threatening hecklers ( he posted the evidence on YouTube ) who had called Murphy both and forced him to suspend the tour temporarily.
  • (10) General principles of action include letting patients or relatives have their say, remaining calm, empathic, courteous, objective and sharing information with patients.
  • (11) The one word, "Willie", came to conjure up a decent, slightly slow, endlessly courteous country squire, who liked his food and drink and got on with everyone he dealt with - no mean feat for someone educated at that supremely elitist institution, Winchester.
  • (12) However, Israeli sources described the telephone conversations as friendly and courteous attempts to persuade Kunugi to delay the working group’s decision on its recommendation regarding the IDF until Israel had been allowed to present its case on the issue.
  • (13) But he is courteous, wry, insightful and very much on the left of his party.
  • (14) Low key and courteous, he confirmed there had indeed been such an MI5 file on me and that I had been under regular surveillance.
  • (15) They also want to know that it’s going to be a safe product.” Trump has not completely kept to his new, more courteous script.
  • (16) Laidlaw gently pawed her into position, confirming without doubt the date of the lunch, challenging the strength of her memory until she insisted she was absolutely certain and then, like Hannibal Lecter in a horsehair wig, softly and courteously, he cut out her heart: the incident with Kemp had happened six weeks after the lunch.
  • (17) He is courteous, almost jovial, though not quite endearing.
  • (18) He is courteous and polite, and good fun – not attributes you always associate with people connected with fashion.
  • (19) Abbott promised to reply “swiftly, fully and courteously” to Yudhoyono’s letter, in a statement to parliament on Wednesday night.
  • (20) It is certainly true that, away from the stage, the controversial, much-reviled comedian and club owner Manning, who has died aged 76 following a kidney problem, could be a polite, generous and courteous man, referring when appropriate to people as gay or black, for example, once he was off stage.

Debonair


Definition:

  • (a.) Characterized by courteousness, affability, or gentleness; of good appearance and manners; graceful; complaisant.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) In Slipstream , her raw and honest memoir, she recounts how her debonair father, David, would kiss her on the lips and grope her, while her mother, Kit, a former ballerina, "thought that everything to do with sex was absolutely disgusting".
  • (2) Keen to make the most of the global interest the film has aroused, the city council on Friday unveiled a series of itineraries for tourists and locals keen to follow in the debonair steps of Jep Gambardella, The Great Beauty's protagonist.
  • (3) Here's the problem, Britain: these men all possess debonair charm, refined good looks, and the ability to deliver intelligent, nuanced performances.
  • (4) A wiry 57, he arrives for lunch at Bar Pitti on Sixth Avenue, New York City, looking debonair in a cashmere Canali sports jacket.
  • (5) It has become a deeply personal fight with her main opponent, the debonair MP and mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, from former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s right-wing Les Républicains party.
  • (6) Debonair and unflappable, former journalist Les Hinton served as Rupert Murdoch's consigliere for over a decade, smoothing the ruffled feathers of the rich and powerful whenever they were on the receiving end of stories published in News International's stable of titles.
  • (7) Craig was initially seen as a somewhat risky choice for Bond before his debut in Casino Royale in 2006, viewed by some as insufficiently debonair and arched-eyebrowed, even too blond.
  • (8) That bodes well for James Bond fans: work on a 23rd movie about Ian Fleming's debonair spy has been frozen since April while MGM, which owns the Bond franchise, sorts out its problems.
  • (9) A roguish and debonair art dealer, our hero has been described as an amoral Bertie Wooster with psychopathic tendencies.
  • (10) Depp, who only last week agreed to play Charlie Mortdecai in a film based on Kyril Bonfiglioli's books about the eccentric and debonair English art dealer, will once again portray the Mad Hatter in Hollywood's latest riff on the classic Lewis Carroll tale.
  • (11) There is a similar bifurcation in drama: while the film shows the delightfully homemade sound effects being created for a broadcast of Macbeth, the lighter end of theatre is represented by Eric Maschwitz, the debonair head of variety, seen urging a producer to make sure a music-hall act’s jokes are cleaned up (“It won’t get by for a moment, old boy”).
  • (12) It’s the only place I’ve kept going to for all the time I’ve lived here.” DEBONAIR is a DJ and hosts a bi-weekly show on NTS Radio .
  • (13) When Piano, who is a debonair 76, got the call late last summer in the back of a New York cab, his immediate reaction was an endearing, almost indignant, disbelief.
  • (14) Tall, immaculate and debonair into old age, Henry continued to work as a match-day host at White Hart Lane until 2006, when ill health forced him to give up his commitment to his beloved Spurs.
  • (15) Dastardly, debonair, dapper, devious, dignified and more than a little degenerate, the Lannister family has hit its stride.
  • (16) For my maiden voyage, I settled on a ride from London to Paris, offered on BlaBlaCar by a debonair Parisian named Jean K, who, according to reviews, was de confiance (trustworthy).
  • (17) Laura Wade-Gery could be a Barbara Taylor-Bradford heroine or a Jackie Collins boardroom badass: debonair, moneyed and connected as only a diplomat’s daughter could be, well-travelled, ambitious, successful – and about to become a mother at 50.