Adjacent Words

Gentle definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

GEN'TLE, a. [See Genteel.] Well born; of a good family or respectable birth, though not noble; as the studies of noble and gentle youth; gentle blood.
1. Mild; meek; soft; bland; not rough, harsh or severe; as a gentle nature, temper or disposition; a gentle manner; a gentle address; a gentle voice. 1 Th 27. 2 Timothy 2.
2. Tame; peaceable; not wild, turbulent or refractory; as a gentle horse or beast.
3. Soothing; pacific.
4. Treating with mildness; not violent.
A gentle hand may lead the elephant with a hair.
GEN'TLE, n. A gentleman.
1. A kind of worm.
GEN'TLE, v.t. To make genteel; to raise from the vulgar.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe; "a gentle reprimand"; "a vein of gentle irony"; "poked gentle fun at him" [syn: gentle, soft]
2: having or showing a kindly or tender nature; "the gentle touch of her hand"; "her gentle manner was comforting"; "a gentle sensitive nature"; "gentle blue eyes"
3: quiet and soothing; "a gentle voice"; "a gentle nocturne"
4: belonging to or characteristic of the nobility or aristocracy; "an aristocratic family"; "aristocratic Bostonians"; "aristocratic government"; "a blue family"; "blue blood"; "the blue-blooded aristocracy"; "of gentle blood"; "patrician landholders of the American South"; "aristocratic bearing"; "aristocratic features"; "patrician tastes" [syn: aristocratic, aristocratical, blue, blue-blooded, gentle, patrician]
5: easily handled or managed; "a gentle old horse, docile and obedient" [syn: docile, gentle]
6: having little impact; "an easy pat on the shoulder"; "gentle rain"; "a gentle breeze"; "a soft (or light) tapping at the window" [syn: easy, gentle, soft]
7: marked by moderate steepness; "an easy climb"; "a gentle slope" [syn: easy, gentle] v
1: cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of; "She managed to mollify the angry customer" [syn: pacify, lenify, conciliate, assuage, appease, mollify, placate, gentle, gruntle]
2: give a title to someone; make someone a member of the nobility [syn: ennoble, gentle, entitle]
3: stroke soothingly

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective (gentler; gentlest) Etymology: Middle English gentil, from Anglo-French, from Latin gentilis of a gens, of one's family, from gent-, gens gens, nation; akin to Latin gignere to beget — more at kin Date: 13th century 1. a. belonging to a family of high social station b. archaic chivalrous c. honorable, distinguished; specifically of or relating to a gentleman d. kind, amiable — used especially in address as a complimentary epithet <gentle reader> e. suited to a person of high social station 2. a. tractable, docile b. free from harshness, sternness, or violence 3. soft, delicate 4. moderate • gently adverb II. noun Date: 14th century a person of gentle birth or status III. verb (gentled; gentling) Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to raise from the commonalty ; ennoble 2. a. to make gentler b. to make (an animal) tame and docile c. mollify, placate d. to stroke soothingly ; pet intransitive verb to become gentle <the wind gentled>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., v., & n. --adj. (gentler, gentlest) 1 not rough; mild or kind, esp. in temperament. 2 moderate; not severe or drastic (a gentle rebuke; a gentle breeze). 3 (of birth, pursuits, etc.) honourable, of or fit for people of good social position. 4 quiet; requiring patience (gentle art). 5 archaic generous, courteous. --v.tr. 1 make gentle or docile. 2 handle (a horse etc.) firmly but gently. --n. a maggot, the larva of the meat-fly or bluebottle used as fishing-bait. Derivatives: gentleness n. gently adv. Etymology: ME f. OF gentil f. L gentilis: see GENTILE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gentle Gen"tle, a. [Compar. Gentler; superl. Gentlest.] [OE. gentil, F. gentil noble, pretty, graceful, fr. L. gentilis of the same clan or race, fr. gens, gentis, tribe, clan, race, orig. that which belongs together by birth, fr. the root of genere, gignere, to beget; hence gentle, properly, of birth or family, that is, of good or noble birth. See Gender, and cf. Genteel, Gentil, Gentile, Gentoo, Jaunty.] 1. Well-born; of a good family or respectable birth, though not noble. British society is divided into nobility, gentry, and yeomanry, and families are either noble, gentle, or simple. --Johnson's Cyc. The studies wherein our noble and gentle youth ought to bestow their time. --Milton. 2. Quiet and refined in manners; not rough, harsh, or stern; mild; meek; bland; amiable; tender; as, a gentle nature, temper, or disposition; a gentle manner; a gentle address; a gentle voice. 3. A compellative of respect, consideration, or conciliation; as, gentle reader. ``Gentle sirs.'' ``Gentle Jew.'' ``Gentle servant.'' --Shak. 4. Not wild, turbulent, or refractory; quiet and docile; tame; peaceable; as, a gentle horse. 5. Soft; not violent or rough; not strong, loud, or disturbing; easy; soothing; pacific; as, a gentle touch; a gentle gallop . ``Gentle music.'' --Sir J. Davies. O sleep! it is a gentle thing. --Coleridge. The gentle craft, the art or trade of shoemaking. Syn: Mild; meek; placid; dovelike; quiet; peaceful; pacific; bland; soft; tame; tractable; docile. Usage: Gentle, Tame, Mild, Meek. Gentle describes the natural disposition; tame, that which is subdued by training; mild implies a temper which is, by nature, not easily provoked; meek, a spirit which has been schooled to mildness by discipline or suffering. The lamb is gentle; the domestic fowl is tame; John, the Apostle, was mild; Moses was meek.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gentle Gen"tle, n. 1. One well born; a gentleman. [Obs.] Gentles, methinks you frown. --Shak. 2. A trained falcon. See Falcon-gentil. 3. (Zo["o]l.) A dipterous larva used as fish bait.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gentle Gent"le, v. t. 1. To make genteel; to raise from the vulgar; to ennoble. [Obs.] --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(gentler, gentlest) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Someone who is gentle is kind, mild, and calm. My son was a quiet and gentle man who liked sports and enjoyed life... Michael's voice was gentle and consoling. ADJ • gently She smiled gently at him... 'I'm sorry to disturb you,' Webb said gently. ADV: ADV with v • gentleness ...the gentleness with which she treated her pregnant mother. N-UNCOUNT 2. Gentle actions or movements are performed in a calm and controlled manner, with little force. ...a gentle game of tennis... His movements were gentle and deliberate. ADJ • gently Patrick took her gently by the arm and led her to a chair. ADV 3. If you describe the weather, especially the wind, as gentle, you mean it is pleasant and calm and not harsh or violent. The blustery winds of spring had dropped to a gentle breeze. ADJ • gently Light airs blew gently out of the south-east. ADV: ADV with v 4. A gentle slope or curve is not steep or severe. ...gentle, rolling meadows... ADJ • gently With its gently rolling hills it looks like Tuscany... ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj 5. A gentle heat is a fairly low heat. Cook for 30 minutes over a gentle heat. ADJ • gently Add the onion and cook gently for about 5 minutes. ADV: ADV with v

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Mild, bland, moderate, kind, tender, compassionate, indulgent, meek, soft, humane, clement, lenient, merciful, of a sweet disposition, gentle-hearted, tender-hearted. 2. Tame, docile, peaceable, quiet, tractable, pacific, dove-like. 3. Light, moderate, soft, bland, zephyr-like, mild. 4. High-born, noble, well-born, of good family. 5. Refined, cultivated, well-bred, polished, courteous.

Moby Thesaurus

accepting, acclimate, acclimatize, accommodate, accustom, adapt, adjust, affable, agreeable, ambling, amiable, appease, aristocratic, balmy, barely audible, bed, bed down, benign, bland, bleeding, bonhomous, break, break in, break to harness, bridle, broken, brush, bust, calm, calm down, case harden, cautious, charitable, chastened, chivalrous, circumspect, claudicant, clement, commiserative, compassionate, complaisant, compose, condition, condolent, confirm, controllable, cool, cordial, cradle, crawling, creeping, creeping like snail, cultivated, cultured, curry, currycomb, cushion, dainty, decrescendo, deliberate, delicate, dim, distant, docile, domesticate, domesticated, domesticize, dovelike, drench, ducal, dulcify, ease, easy, easy-natured, easygoing, establish, even out, exalted, faint, faint-voiced, faltering, familiarize, feeble, feed, fix, flagging, fluff, fodder, foot-dragging, forbearant, forbearing, forgiving, genial, genteel, gentlemanlike, gentlemanly, good-humored, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, gradual, groom, habituate, halcyon, half-heard, halting, handle, harden, harness, high, highbred, hitch, hobbled, hobbling, housebreak, housebroken, human, humane, humble, hush, hushed, idle, indistinct, indolent, indulgent, inure, judicious, kind, kindly, kinglike, kingly, knead, knightly, ladylike, lamblike, languid, languorous, lax, laxate, lazy, leisurely, lenient, light, limber, limber up, limping, litter, loosen, low, lull, lumbering, manage, manageable, mash, massage, meek, mellow, mellowy, melting, merciful, mild, mild as milk, milden, milk, moderate, mollified, mollify, murmured, naturalize, noble, nonresistive, nonrigid, nonviolent, of gentle blood, of rank, orient, orientate, pacific, pacifistic, pacify, patient, patrician, peaceable, peaceful, pianissimo, piano, pitying, placid, pleasant, pleasing, plump, poking, poky, polished, pour balm into, princelike, princely, prudent, pulp, queenlike, queenly, quell, quiet, quite the lady, refined, relax, relaxed, reluctant, rest, restful, rock, rock to sleep, rub down, ruthful, saddle, sauntering, scarcely heard, season, serene, shake up, shuffling, slack, slothful, slow, slow as death, slow as molasses, slow as slow, slow-crawling, slow-foot, slow-going, slow-legged, slow-moving, slow-paced, slow-poky, slow-running, slow-sailing, slow-stepped, sluggish, smash, smooth, smooth down, smooth over, smoothen, snail-paced, snaillike, sober, soft, soft as putty, soft-sounding, soft-voiced, soften, soften up, softened, softhearted, soothe, soothing, squash, stabilize, staggering, steady, still, strolling, subaudible, subdue, subdued, supple, sweet, sweet-tempered, sympathetic, sympathizing, tame, tamed, temperate, tend, tender, tenderhearted, tenderize, tentative, thoughtful, titled, toddling, tolerant, tone down, tortoiselike, tottering, tractable, train, tranquil, tranquilize, trudging, tune down, turtlelike, unclear, understanding, undisturbed, unhurried, unruffled, untroubled, waddling, warmhearted, water, weak, weak-voiced, well-bred, well-brought-up, well-natured, whisper-soft, whispered, wont, yoke