gentility

[jen-til-i-tee]

noun

1. good breeding or refinement.

   Synonyms: propriety, decorum, grace, polish

2. affected or pretentious politeness or elegance.

3. the status of belonging to polite society.

4. members of polite society collectively.

gentility

/ dʒɛnˈtɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. respectability and polite good breeding

2. affected politeness

3. noble birth or ancestry

4. people of noble birth

Other Word Forms

• ungentility noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of gentility¹

1300–50; Middle English < Old French gentilite < Latin gentīlitāt- (stem of gentīlitās ), equivalent to gentīl ( is ) ( gentle ) + -itāt- -ity

Word History and Origins

Origin of gentility¹

C14: from Old French gentilite, from Latin gentīlitās relationship of those belonging to the same tribe or family; see _gens

Example Sentences

As Hemingway exclaimed in the voice of Jake Barnes, “It’s funny what a wonderful gentility you get in the bar of a big hotel.”

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Du Maurier’s world is one of pinched gentility.

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Its noble gentility has been subtly adding to the DNA of the California sound.

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Already masterwork in balancing gentility with explosive rage, the actor blends the spark of a political mover with the oleaginous menace of a mob boss.

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So what this shows about Richard Mack is that, in his eyes, one of the appeals of the constitutional sheriff movement is that they represent a sort of gentility that doesn't exist in policing anymore.

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Related Words

• aristocracy 
• civility 
• decorum 
• elegance 
• politeness www.thesaurus.com
• propriety 
• respectability