gracious
Americanadjective
-
pleasantly kind, benevolent, and courteous.
- Antonyms:
- churlish
-
characterized by good taste, comfort, ease, or luxury: a gracious home.
gracious suburban living;
a gracious home.
-
indulgent or beneficent in a pleasantly condescending way, especially to inferiors.
-
merciful or compassionate.
our gracious king.
- Antonyms:
- cruel
-
Obsolete. fortunate or happy.
interjection
adjective
-
characterized by or showing kindness and courtesy
-
condescendingly courteous, benevolent, or indulgent
-
characterized by or suitable for a life of elegance, ease, and indulgence
gracious living
gracious furnishings
-
merciful or compassionate
-
obsolete fortunate, prosperous, or happy
interjection
Related Words
See kind 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gracious
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English gracious, from Old French, from Latin grātiōsus “amiable,” equivalent to grāti(a) “favor, kindness, esteem” + -ōsus adjective suffix; see grace, -ous
Explanation
Gracious means "kind, courteous, and compassionate," like your gracious reply to a rude question like, "So, did you ever learn to hit a softball?" Gracious descends from the Latin word for good will. A gracious person wants everyone to be comfortable: a gracious host leaves extra blankets and some books on a variety of subjects out for overnight guests to enjoy. Even at a difficult moment, a gracious person remains thoughtful and kind, like the gracious way you treat a waiter who spills a glass of juice on your lap.
Vocabulary lists containing gracious
Be Nice!
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More Positive Words to Describe a Person
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The Emancipation Proclamation (1862)
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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.
"We thought 'oh gracious, we're responsible for that'," he said.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
“Markets aren’t typically so gracious as to offer multiple opportunities, which is why we have encouraged investors to be early,” he said.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
Bottom-liners had also nixed Gehry’s original design for a more gracious lobby with a cafe out front, not the gloomy one installed against his will.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026
While Fetterman was gracious to Mullin during his questioning, though, he was unusually coy about the status of his support.
From Slate • Mar. 18, 2026
Many of the trees that had lined the gracious and pleasant walks of the Common were cut down, and the smoke of countless cook-fires hung heavily in the humid air upon those denuded slopes.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
