gentle

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“
She was the same as ever--gentle, affectionate, and thoughtful for his wishes; and he appreciated all this.

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Definitions (42)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (12)

  1. adjective Considerate or kindly in disposition; amiable and tender.
  2. adjective Not harsh or severe; mild and soft: a gentle scolding; a gentle tapping at the window.
  3. adjective Easily managed or handled; docile: a gentle horse.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (17)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

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Examples (50)

  • The tone was not gentle, and I had the impression that she wanted rid of us. —  EQMM,August2007
  • He was so gentle, and was doing things to me I'd never dreamed of doing even to.... Colin! It was then I remembered him. —  XXXX
  • So gentle was his end that the bystanders scarcely knew when he had ceased to breathe. —  The Life of John Clare
  • The feathery light caress down his back was incredibly gentle, and provocative, too. —  Garwood, Julie - The Gift
  • He had been looking almost like her gentle, poetic Robert again with it longer. —  Mary Balogh - Beyond the Sunrise
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This word has been looked up 141 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

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Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

soft ·  mild ·  affectionate ·  polite

Used in the same contextWord Family

gentle:   gentler
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English gentil, courteous, noble, from Old French, from Latin gentīlis, of the same clan, from gēns, gent-, clan; see genə- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Early modern English also jentle; from Middle English gentel, gentell, gentil, gentyl, gentile, gentille, also with initial j, jentille, jentylle sometimes jantail (cf. modern jaunty, janty), of noble or good birth, noble, comely, gentle, etc., from Old French gentil, of noble or good birth, gentle, gracious, kind, pretty, etc., French gentil pretty, noble, = Provencal Spanish Portuguese gentil = Italian gentile, noble, genteel, polite, humane, pretty, etc., from Latin gentilis, of or belonging to the same clan or gens, also foreign (see gentile), Middle Latin of noble or good birth, noble, etc., from Latin gen(t-)s, a race, family, clan: see gens. The L. gentilis appears in English in many different forms, namely, gentle, genteel, gentile, and abbreviation gent, genty, jaunty, janty, etc.: see these forms.
  2. from gentle, adjective
 

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/ˈdʒɛntl/
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