gentle means tender and amiable; of a considerate or kindly disposition. It carries an Arena rating of 1503, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, gentle ranks #2,737 of 14,445 for Most Beautiful Words, #6,087 of 14,340 for Most Vivid Words, #7,100 of 14,440 for Most Satisfying to Say, #7,102 of 14,448 for Funniest Words.
gentle is pronounced /ˈdʒɛntl̩/.
Why “gentle” is a great word
Having a mild, kind, or tender temperament; free from harshness or severity. Its etymology flows 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, race'), carrying the original sense of well-bred nobility into the quiet aristocracy of character. Unlike 'meek,' which implies a submissive lack of spirit, or 'bland,' which suggests a tedious absence of flavor, 'gentle' denotes a positive, considered softness born of strength. It is the deliberate pressure of a hand steadying another's, the voice that lowers rather than rises in argument, and the diffused light of a cloudy afternoon that softens all edges—a quiet force that chooses not to exert itself, a kindness not as frailty but as chosen presence.
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 (“[Roman] clan”). Doublet of gentile, genteel, and jaunty.
adj
- 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.”
- 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.”
- Well-born; of a good family or respectable birth, though not noble.“"You are of gentle blood," she said […]”
noun
- A person of high birth.“Gentles, methinks you frown.”
- A maggot used as bait by anglers.“Pooh! the whole thing is as alive and wrigging as an angler's box of gentles”
- A trained falcon, or falcon-gentil.
verb
- To become gentle.““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.”
- To ennoble.“[…] 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 […]”
- To break; to tame; to domesticate.“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.”
- To soothe; to calm; to make gentle.“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.”
Words closest in meaning
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