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.
Many European skin-care brands have long been known for giving priority to both effectiveness and gentleness on the skin, according to dermatologist Marisa Garshick.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
"Your wild imagination, your brave untethered womanhood, your ferocious gentleness is a guiding light to me."
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
Worse, it is a subtle form of victim-blaming, as it implies that the targets of defamation can make it stop by responding with gentleness instead of anger.
From Salon ● Nov. 12, 2024
Although Disney has become synonymous with a certain gentleness, these cartoons are sort of violent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2024
He bent and examined the mare’s hoof with a gentleness of touch which surprised Taran.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
