| English Dictionary |
GENTLE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does gentle mean?
• GENTLE (adjective)
The adjective GENTLE has 7 senses:
1. soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
2. having or showing a kindly or tender nature
3. quiet and soothing
4. belonging to or characteristic of the nobility or aristocracy
5. easily handled or managed
6. having little impact
7. marked by moderate steepness
Familiarity information: GENTLE used as an adjective is common.
• GENTLE (verb)
The verb GENTLE has 3 senses:
1. cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
2. give a title to someone; make someone a member of the nobility
3. stroke soothingly
Familiarity information: GENTLE used as a verb is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: gentlest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
Synonyms:
gentle; soft
Context example:
poked gentle fun at him
Similar:
mild (moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme)
Derivation:
gentleness (acting in a manner that is gentle and mild and even-tempered)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Having or showing a kindly or tender nature
Context example:
gentle blue eyes
Similar:
kind (having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior)
Derivation:
gentleness (acting in a manner that is gentle and mild and even-tempered)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Quiet and soothing
Context example:
a gentle nocturne
Similar:
soft ((of sound) relatively low in volume)
Derivation:
gentleness (acting in a manner that is gentle and mild and even-tempered)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Belonging to or characteristic of the nobility or aristocracy
Synonyms:
aristocratic; aristocratical; blue; blue-blooded; gentle; patrician
Context example:
patrician tastes
Similar:
noble (of or belonging to or constituting the hereditary aristocracy especially as derived from feudal times)
Derivation:
gentility (elegance by virtue of fineness of manner and expression)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Easily handled or managed
Synonyms:
docile; gentle
Context example:
a gentle old horse, docile and obedient
Similar:
tame; tamed (brought from wildness into a domesticated state)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Having little impact
Synonyms:
Context example:
a soft (or light) tapping at the window
Similar:
light (of little intensity or power or force)
Derivation:
gentleness (acting in a manner that is gentle and mild and even-tempered)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Marked by moderate steepness
Synonyms:
easy; gentle
Context example:
a gentle slope
Similar:
gradual ((of a topographical gradient) not steep or abrupt)
Derivation:
gentleness (the property possessed by a slope that is very gradual)
| Conjugation: |
... he / she / it gentles Past simple: gentled
Past participle: gentled
-ing form: gentling
Sense 1
Meaning:
Cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
Classified under:
Verbs of feeling
Synonyms:
appease; assuage; conciliate; gentle; gruntle; lenify; mollify; pacify; placate
Context example:
She managed to mollify the angry customer
Hypernyms (to "gentle" is one way to...):
calm; calm down; lull; quiet; quieten; still; tranquilize; tranquillise; tranquillize (make calm or still)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Sense 2
Meaning:
Give a title to someone; make someone a member of the nobility
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Synonyms:
Hypernyms (to "gentle" is one way to...):
advance; elevate; kick upstairs; promote; raise; upgrade (give a promotion to or assign to a higher position)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "gentle"):
baronetise; baronetize (confer baronetcy upon)
lord (make a lord of someone)
dub; knight (raise (someone) to knighthood)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Sense 3
Meaning:
Stroke soothingly
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "gentle" is one way to...):
pet (stroke or caress gently)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Context examples
What chiefly struck me was the gentle manners of these people, and I longed to join them, but dared not.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
Now Aunt March possessed in perfection the art of rousing the spirit of opposition in the gentlest people, and enjoyed doing it.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
He closed on the canvas with his teeth and gave a gentle tug.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
Another silence followed this, and another gentle beating on my hand.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Gentle or temperate in nature or degree.
(Mild, NCI Thesaurus)
The great reptilian hearts, however, each as large as a cushion, still lay there, beating slowly and steadily, with a gentle rise and fall, in horrible independent life.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I saw Mr. Rochester smile:—his stern features softened; his eye grew both brilliant and gentle, its ray both searching and sweet.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
This gentle giant can reach the The Irish Wolfhound is a massive, muscular dog, and is one of the tallest breeds in the world.
(Irish Wolfhound, NCI Thesaurus)
A heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope, thickening into a grove at the highest point.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
And young and old, noble and squire, gentle and simple, came at once on the summons; and among the rest came the friendly dwarf, with the sugarloaf hat, and a new scarlet cloak.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
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