gentleness
Britishnoun
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the quality of being gentle
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physics a property of elementary particles, conserved in certain strong interactions See also charm 1
Explanation
Gentleness is the quality of being kind and careful. Your gentleness with a frightened stray dog will eventually convince her to let you feed and pet her. The noun gentleness is perfect for describing the way someone acts when they are soft and calm and sweet to other people. A good kindergarten teacher speaks to his students with gentleness, and your favorite dentist might be one who treats you with gentleness. The original meaning, from around 1300, was "inherited nature," but by the 1600s it had come to mean "freedom from harshness and violence," with the Latin root gentilis, "of the same family or clan."
Vocabulary lists containing gentleness
"American Names"
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ness
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The Suffix -ness, Part 2
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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.
“Brian Lindstrom died this morning the way he lived — with gentleness and courage, grace and gratitude for his beautiful life,” she wrote.
From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2026
Sweetly recreating Michael’s delicate speaking voice and his gentleness while avoiding coming across as too weird, Mr. Jackson is so charming that it’s easy to forget about Michael’s sins for two hours.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
Her alleged gentleness made up for his anger.
From Salon • Sep. 24, 2025
She described him as "a war hero, our hero, and the family patriarch who wore his position with a gentleness and lightness of touch, unwavering positivity and a resolve to carry on".
From BBC • Jul. 16, 2025
Martha looked after him as though she were very proud, even if she did tease him about his gentleness.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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.
