genteel
Americanadjective
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belonging or suited to polite society.
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well-bred or refined; polite; elegant; stylish.
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affectedly or pretentiously polite, delicate, etc.
adjective
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affectedly proper or refined; excessively polite
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respectable, polite, and well-bred
a genteel old lady
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appropriate to polite or fashionable society
genteel behaviour
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of genteel
1590–1600; < French gentil; see gentle
Explanation
Although the adjective genteel means high-class and refined, it is often used today in a somewhat mocking tone, as though good manners and elegance are passé. Still, it would be nice if more people were a little more genteel. The word genteel comes from the Old French word gentil, "high-born, noble." We can see the similarity to the word gentle, as in gentleman and gentlewoman. The word is especially powerful in describing Chaucer's Knight in the Canterbury Tales as "a verray, parfit gentil knyght" — "a true, perfect, noble knight," dignified, patrician, and as genteel as they come. Today, it describes someone elegant, fashionable, and well-bred. Picture someone in riding jodhpurs reading Town and Country while astride a magnificent show horse.
Vocabulary lists containing genteel
100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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Johnny Tremain
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This wasn’t “an argument between genteel parties in Congress,” William Hogeland writes in his history, The Whiskey Rebellion, “but…a guerrilla war on the country’s ragged margin, our first war for the American soul.”
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
This is simply his pitch for escaping New York, but in a genteel manner.
From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026
The winner Talarico, who has a Master of Divinity degree from a Christian seminary, offered a more genteel approach.
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026
Injury ended his gridiron dreams and led him onto the more genteel fields of baseball, where he became a peacekeeper rather than a mayhem maker.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026
I inclined my head in a genteel manner.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
