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gentle. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
gentle, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
gentle in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
gentle you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From Middle English gentil (“courteous, noble”), from Old French gentil (“high-born, noble”), from Latin gentilis (“of the same family or clan”), from gens (“ clan”). Doublet of gentile, genteel, and jaunty.
Pronunciation
Adjective
gentle (comparative gentler or more gentle, superlative gentlest or most gentle)
- Tender and amiable; of a considerate or kindly disposition.
Stuart is a gentle man; he would never hurt you.
- Soft and mild rather than hard or severe.
I felt something touch my shoulder; it was gentle and a little slimy.
- Docile and easily managed.
We had a gentle swim in the lake.
- a gentle horse
- Gradual rather than steep or sudden.
The walks in this area have a gentle incline.
- Polite and respectful rather than rude.
He gave me a gentle reminder that we had to hurry up.
- (archaic) Well-born; of a good family or respectable birth, though not noble.
Synonyms
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “polite”): rude
Derived terms
Translations
tender and amiable
- Azerbaijani: zərif (az)
- Belarusian: высакаро́дны (vysakaródny), ласка́вы (laskávy)
- Bulgarian: благоро́ден (bg) (blagoróden), любе́зен (bg) (ljubézen), приве́тлив (bg) (privétliv), дружелю́бен (bg) (druželjúben), мил (bg) (mil)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 斯文 (zh) (sīwén)
- Czech: něžný (cs), přívětivý (cs), laskavý (cs)
- Dutch: lieflijk (nl)
- Finnish: herttainen (fi), kiltti (fi)
- French: gentil (fr) m
- Galician: xentil m or f
- Georgian: რბილი (rbili), ფაქიზი (pakizi), ნაზი (nazi), სათუთი (satuti), მოსიყვარულე (mosiq̇varule), მეგობრული (megobruli), გულკეთილი (gulḳetili)
- German: liebenswürdig (de)
- Gothic: 𐌵𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍂𐌿𐍃 (qairrus)
- Greek:
- Ancient: ἤπιος (ḗpios), πραΰς (praǘs), προσηνής (prosēnḗs)
- Hindi: सज्जन (hi) (sajjan)
- Ingrian: veeno
- Irish: mín
- Italian: gentile (it)
- Japanese: 優しい (ja) (yasashii)
- Latin: lēnis (la)
- Maori: ngākau mōwai, hūmārie
- Norman: bénîn
- Old English: bilewit
- Plautdietsch: saunft
- Polish: łagodny (pl), delikatny (pl) m, miły (pl)
- Portuguese: gentil (pt)
- Russian: благоро́дный (ru) (blagoródnyj), любе́зный (ru) (ljubéznyj), не́жный (ru) (néžnyj), ла́сковый (ru) (láskovyj), приве́тливый (ru) (privétlivyj), дружелю́бный (ru) (druželjúbnyj), доброду́шный (ru) (dobrodúšnyj), ми́лый (ru) (mílyj)
- Slovak: nežný, prívetivý, láskavý
- Spanish: tierno (es)
- Thai: เป็นกันเอง (th) (bpen-gan-eeng), ใจดี (th) (jai-dii)
- Turkish: şefkatli (tr)
- Ukrainian: люб'я́зний (ljubʺjáznyj), ласка́вий (laskávyj), благоро́дний (uk) (blahoródnyj), ні́жний (nížnyj)
- Welsh: tyner (cy)
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soft and mild rather than hard or severe
- Azerbaijani: zərif (az)
- Bulgarian: мек (bg) (mek), кро́тък (bg) (krótǎk)
- Finnish: hellävarainen, leuto (fi)
- French: doux (fr) m
- Georgian: რბილი (rbili), ფაქიზი (pakizi)
- German: einfühlsam (de), sanftmütig, sanft (de)
- Greek:
- Ancient: προσηνής (prosēnḗs), ἥσυχος (hḗsukhos)
- Irish: mín
- Latin: lēnis (la), clēmēns
- Maori: māhū, kāwatawata (refers to breezes), momohe (of appearances), māhū, māriri (of the wind), mārū
- Plautdietsch: saunft
- Polish: łagodny (pl), delikatny (pl) m
- Portuguese: gentil (pt)
- Russian: кро́ткий (ru) (krótkij), мя́гкий (ru) (mjáxkij)
- Spanish: suave (es)
- Thai: นุ่มนวล (th) (nûm-nuuan), อ่อนโยน (th) (ɔ̀ɔn-yoon)
- Turkish: hoşgörülü (tr), yumuşak başlı (tr)
- Vietnamese: nhẹ nhàng (vi)
- Welsh: tyner (cy)
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docile and easily managed
gradual rather than steep or sudden
polite and respectful rather than rude
Translations to be checked
Verb
gentle (third-person singular simple present gentles, present participle gentling, simple past and past participle gentled)
- (intransitive) To become gentle.
2013, Kathryn L.M. Reynolds, Garland Roses, Kathryn L.M. Reynolds, →ISBN, page 226:“She's experienced a horrific and nasty scare and is in a state of shock, but otherwise she's relatively okay.” Conrad replied, his tone at first grim (as he recalled what he'd seen in the family room) and then it gentled to a more doctorial tone as he directed his next comments to his patient.
- (transitive, obsolete) To ennoble.
c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :[…] For he to-day that sheds his blood with me / Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, / This day shall gentle his condition […]
- (transitive, animal husbandry) To break; to tame; to domesticate.
2008, Frank Leslie, The Killing Breed, Penguin, →ISBN:Yakima could have tried to catch him, gentle him as Wolf had been gentled, but having two stallions in his cavvy would lead to a different kind of trouble.
- (transitive) To soothe; to calm; to make gentle.
1996, William C. Loring, An American Romantic-realist Abroad: Templeton Strong and His Music, Scarecrow Press, →ISBN, page 201:A hornist, his playing gentled by perspective, is out of sight within the woods, but his notes are heard through or over the murmuring mix of bird song and breeze in leaves.
Noun
gentle (plural gentles)
- (archaic) A person of high birth.
c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :Gentles, methinks you frown.
2012, Lizzie Stark, Leaving Mundania: Inside the Transformative World of Live Action Role-Playing Games, Chicago Review Press, →ISBN, page 43:While actual medieval societies were full of lots of peasants and a few rich and noble gentles, SCA personas tend to be nobles rather than commoners.
- (fishing) A maggot used as bait by anglers.
1846, Douglas William Jerrold, “The History of St. Giles and St. James”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):Pooh! the whole thing is as alive and wrigging as an angler's box of gentles
1983, The Fisherman Who Laughed, page 67:Years ago, on Victoria's Port Phillip Bay, the recognised bait for garfish were `gentles', a genteel word for maggots, which were especially grown for gar fishermen.
- A trained falcon, or falcon-gentil.