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
- graciosity noun
- graciously adverb
- graciousness noun
- nongraciosity noun
- nongracious adjective
- overgracious adjective
- quasi-gracious adjective
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; grace, -ous
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.
A thrifty sort, then—he acts as his own camera operator and prefers hardware-store lightbulbs to specialized equipment—and one gracious in acknowledging his co-workers of many years.
Leave it to Mom to be prouder of me for being a gracious loser than for any actual accomplishment.
From Literature
"They were so gracious and wonderful and accepted me with open arms, it was really lovely to get to know everybody," she said.
From BBC
Like a gracious host inviting people into her home, Rachel stood and called out over the growing din of the cafeteria, “Alyx, Oliver! Over here.”
From Literature
He said he marveled at her ability to be “generous and kind and gracious while never ever minimizing her own talents.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.
