gentle
kindly; amiable: a gentle manner.
not severe, rough, or violent; mild: a gentle wind;a gentle tap on the shoulder.
moderate: gentle heat.
gradual: a gentle slope.
of good birth or family; wellborn.
characteristic of good birth; honorable; respectable: a gentle upbringing.
easily handled or managed; tractable: a gentle animal.
soft or low: a gentle sound.
polite; refined: Consider, gentle reader, my terrible predicament at this juncture.
entitled to a coat of arms; armigerous.
Archaic. noble; chivalrous: a gentle knight.
to tame; render tractable.
to mollify; calm; pacify.
to make gentle.
to stroke; soothe by petting.
to ennoble; dignify.
Origin of gentle
1synonym study For gentle
Other words for gentle
Opposites for gentle
Other words from gentle
- gen·tle·ness, noun
- gen·tly, adverb
- o·ver·gen·tle, adjective
- un·gen·tle, adjective
- un·gen·tle·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use gentle in a sentence
Mr. Huckabee far overshadows his kinder, gentler Gov. Huckabee.
The actor showed tremendous range in the role, bouncing between his wacky stand-up persona and gentler dramatic work.
Robin Williams's Greatest Moments on Stage and Screen (Video) | The Daily Beast Video | August 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe ringlets had been allowed to fall out and in their place was a gentler, Farrah Fawcett-style wave.
Sobriety brought a new, kinder, and gentler Womack, who often expressed remorse and regret over his past offenses.
Bobby Womack’s Sexual Democracy: The Late Soul Legend Preached Mutual Pleasure | David Masciotra | June 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMoore is famously amiable and social-media savvy, and he takes a gentler and more sophisticated tone than his predecessor.
Southern Baptists Take Baby Steps Away from the Culture Wars | Ruth Graham | June 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He rules with a gentler sway than many who are accustomed to other methods of command would believe possible.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowChristianity is the embodiment of the gentler graces; paganism, in its purest form, that of the sterner virtues.
The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry WithrowThey soon found that it would have been wise to propose a gentler censure.
The History of England from the Accession of James II. | Thomas Babington MacaulayBeyond, is a very excellent school for girls as well as infants of the gentler sex.
Our Churches and Chapels | AtticusA new spirit also had come into Parpon's eyes, gentler, less weird, less distant.
When Valmond Came to Pontiac, Complete | Gilbert Parker
British Dictionary definitions for gentle
/ (ˈdʒɛntəl) /
having a mild or kindly nature or character
soft or temperate; mild; moderate: a gentle scolding
gradual: a gentle slope
easily controlled; tame: a gentle horse
archaic of good breeding; noble: gentle blood
archaic gallant; chivalrous
to tame or subdue (a horse)
to appease or mollify
obsolete to ennoble or dignify
a maggot, esp when used as bait in fishing
archaic a person who is of good breeding
Origin of gentle
1Derived forms of gentle
- gently, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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