gracious
[ grey-shuhs ]
/ ˈgreɪ ʃəs /
adjective
pleasantly kind, benevolent, and courteous.
characterized by good taste, comfort, ease, or luxury: gracious suburban living; a gracious home.
indulgent or beneficent in a pleasantly condescending way, especially to inferiors.
merciful or compassionate: our gracious king.
Obsolete. fortunate or happy.
interjection
(used as an exclamation of surprise, relief, dismay, etc.)
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RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
gracilis, gracilis muscle, gracility, graciosity, gracioso, gracious, graciously, graciousness, grackle, grad, grad.
Origin of gracious
SYNONYMS FOR gracious
Related forms
Can be confusedgracious gratis gratuitous
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for gracious
British Dictionary definitions for gracious
gracious
/ (ˈɡreɪʃəs) /
adjective
characterized by or showing kindness and courtesy
condescendingly courteous, benevolent, or indulgent
characterized by or suitable for a life of elegance, ease, and indulgencegracious living; gracious furnishings
merciful or compassionate
obsolete fortunate, prosperous, or happy
interjection
an expression of mild surprise or wonder (often in exclamatory phrases such as good gracious!, gracious me!)
Derived Formsgraciously, adverbgraciousness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for gracious
gracious
c.1300, "filled with God's grace," from Old French gracios "courteous, pleasing, kind, friendly" (12c., Modern French gracieux), from Latin gratiosus "enjoying favor, agreeable, obliging; popular, acceptable," from gratia (see grace). Meaning "merciful, benevolent" is from late 14c. As an exclamation, elliptically for gracious God, attested from 1713.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with gracious
gracious
see goodness gracious.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.