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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. adj. Characterized by kindness and warm courtesy.
  2. adj. Characterized by tact and propriety: responded to the insult with gracious humor.
  3. adj. Of a merciful or compassionate nature.
  4. adj. Condescendingly courteous; indulgent.
  5. adj. Characterized by charm or beauty; graceful.
  6. adj. Characterized by elegance and good taste: gracious living.
  7. adj. Archaic Enjoying favor or grace; acceptable or pleasing.
  8. interj. Used to express surprise or mild emotion.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. Full of grace or favor; disposed to show good will, or to exercise favor or kindness; beneficent; benignant.
  2. Characterized by or exhibiting favor or kindness; friendly; kind; courteous: now usually implying condescension.
  3. Characterized by or endowed with divine or saving grace; righteous; virtuous.
  4. Attractive; agreeable; acceptable; excellent; graceful; becoming; beautiful.
  5. an exclamation of surprise, originally a mild oath, good or gracious God. Synonyms and Kind, Good-natured, etc. (see benignant); benevolent, condescending, lenient, affable, familiar, civil, courteous.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. kind and warmly courteous
  2. adj. tactful
  3. adj. compassionate
  4. adj. indulgent
  5. adj. charming and graceful
  6. adj. elegant and with good taste
  7. interj. expression of surprise, contempt, outrage, disgust, boredom, frustration.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adj. Abounding in grace or mercy; manifesting love, or bestowing mercy; characterized by grace; beneficent; merciful; disposed to show kindness or favor; condescending.
  2. adj. Abounding in beauty, loveliness, or amiability; graceful; excellent.
  3. adj. Produced by divine grace; influenced or controlled by the divine influence.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. characterized by kindness and warm courtesy especially of a king to his subjects
  2. adj. disposed to bestow favors
  3. adj. exhibiting courtesy and politeness
  4. adj. characterized by charm, good taste, and generosity of spirit

Etymologies

  1. Middle English, from Old French gracieus, from Latin grātiōsus, from grātia, good will; see grace.

Examples

  • “But, he actually went on to praise John McCain for giving what he called a gracious concession speech.”

    CNN Transcript Nov 5, 2008

  • “I don't know whether I know how to give what you call gracious answers, doctor," said Mrs. Derrick pleasantly.”

    Say and Seal, Volume II

  • “There are teams that help other teams, even though in the finals they may be competing against one another, it's what we call gracious professionalism which is a core value," said Brig.”

    KITV.com - Local New

  • “Ego: Gotta have it, but learning how to be gracious is helpful too.”

    Totally Random Bullcrap

  • “Being gracious is obviously NOT something that Obama supporters understand.”

    Clinton adviser reflects on failed campaign

  • “Of course there was the part when Bilbo Baggins cut that lady's throat, but Depp wasted in the tub ranks a little higher on the gracious, is it me or is it warm in here? 'scale.”

    Johnny Depp in the Bathtub

  • “This was a sacrifice of expiation; and the reason why he was allowed to offer it on Mount Moriah was partly in gracious consideration to his fear of repairing to Gibeon (1Ch 21: 29, 30), and partly in anticipation of the removal of the tabernacle and the erection of the temple there (2Ch 3: 1).”

    Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

  • “With your spirit, that is, with you, the soul or spirit being the immediate seat of grace, whence it influences the whole man, and flows out in gracious and holy actings.”

    Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume VI (Acts to Revelation)

  • “He had piped to us in gracious and merciful providences, mourned to us in calamitous, afflicting providences, and has set the one over against the other.”

    Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume V (Matthew to John)

  • “Perhaps they had this notion of the kings of Israel because they had heard that the God of Israel proclaimed his name gracious and merciful, and they concluded their kings would make their”

    Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume II (Joshua to Esther)

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‘gracious’ has been looked up 2391 times, loved by 5 people, added to 39 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 11.