What's the difference between courteous and gracious?

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.

Gracious


Definition:

  • (a.) Abounding in grace or mercy; manifesting love,. or bestowing mercy; characterized by grace; beneficent; merciful; disposed to show kindness or favor; condescending; as, his most gracious majesty.
  • (a.) Abounding in beauty, loveliness, or amiability; graceful; excellent.
  • (a.) Produced by divine grace; influenced or controlled by the divine influence; as, gracious affections.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) When asked if climate scientists get sick of being asked about records by headline hungry media, he graciously laughed, and said: "For a particular month there is very little significance.
  • (2) Earlier Labour's interim leader, Harriet Harman, told the first post-election meeting of the (PLP) to be "gracious" in defeat.
  • (3) 'I couldn't imagine a worse scenario than not enjoying being Thor, because it's gonna consume a good 10 years of my life' Hemsworth, a gentle giant who seems both grateful and gracious, talks passionately about Thor, with no winking and no weariness.
  • (4) The first tweet was a Qu'ranic phrase in Arabic, meaning: "In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful."
  • (5) The leader of the opposition, Bill Shorten, who sponsored similar legislation earlier this year, deserves credit for pushing the issue forward, and even greater credit for his graciousness in standing aside for the cross-party bill.
  • (6) Over the past year, facilitated by the steering group of the Anglican Communion Environmental Network we were invited through email, personal study, and virtual conferencing, to begin considering how we might live out, with urgency and in hope, the Fifth Mark of Mission “to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.” Our reflections entered a new depth when, in February 2015, ACEN chair Archbishop Thabo Makgoba graciously hosted a face to face meeting in South Africa.
  • (7) "McElderry took his defeat graciously, saying: "Fair play to the guys who have organised the Facebook campaign – it's been exciting to be part of a much-hyped battle and they definitely deserve congratulations.
  • (8) * Christine spelled 'defense' and 'offense' in the American style, but I graciously changed them to proper English for her.
  • (9) I always thought The Kumars and Goodness Gracious Me could never have appeared on any other channel; they were BBC2 products.
  • (10) if this was to have been his last game for New York – and possibly the last of his career – he was gracious enough to leave the limelight to the victors.
  • (11) Nina Wadia, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar in the BBC2 comedy sketch show Goodness Gracious Me.
  • (12) On stage with Iggy Pop (left) and Ricky Gardiner (centre) in 1978: ‘Back then he was very spontaneous.’ Photograph: Getty Images But he's a very normal, gracious person.
  • (13) It adds: "As we pursue this community-based approach to school construction, Raising Malawi would like to graciously return the land in Chinkhota granted to us by the government for the original Raising Malawi Academy for Girls project."
  • (14) Djokovic, who remains world No1 was gracious in defeat.
  • (15) "We were graciously received by His Royal Highness, who responded in these terms 'What the bloody hell are you doing here?'
  • (16) As late as 2012, the gracious address contained flecks of modernising reform – the (largely delivered) move to abolish male primogeniture in the monarchy and the (entirely aborted) effort at electing the Lords.
  • (17) The Zona Rosa was fashioned by the city's europhile elite after the revolution; they named its streets after European cities, and built gracious European residences for themselves and the émigrés among them.
  • (18) The Goodness Gracious Me team are reuniting to do a one-off special, we're all very happy to be back together, to commemorate the show and BBC2.
  • (19) He was gracious about Romney, talking not only about his challenger but his father, the former governor of Michigan.
  • (20) It was the Afro-Caribbean Goodness Gracious Me, but before that show.