Comity

//ˈkɒmɪti// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Courtesy and considerate behaviour towards others; social harmony. countable, uncountable

    "There, I saw not only flare-ups of ethnic animosity, but the comity that was also possible among men of different backgrounds."

  2. 2
    a state or atmosphere of harmony or mutual civility and respect wordnet
  3. 3
    Friendly understanding and mutual recognition between two entities, especially nations. countable, uncountable

    "Democrats took control of the House and Senate after 12 years of nearly unbroken Republican rule, with resolute calls for bipartisan comity and a pledge to move quickly on an agenda of health care, homeland security, education and energy proposals."

Synonyms

All synonyms
amenitiesamenityamitybenevolencecivilityconcord

Example

More examples

"There, I saw not only flare-ups of ethnic animosity, but the comity that was also possible among men of different backgrounds."

Etymology

From Late Middle English comite (“association”), from Latin cōmitās.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.