gentle
//ˈdʒɛntl̩//
Forms
- Comparative
- gentler
- Superlative
- gentlest
- Plural
- gentles
- present (v1)
- gentle
- past (v2)
- gentled
- past participle (v3)
- gentled
- present participle
- gentling
- 3rd person singular
- gentles
Definitions
1.Tender and amiable; of a considerate or kindly disposition.
- Stuart is a gentle man; he would never hurt you.
2.Soft and mild rather than hard or severe.
- I felt something touch my shoulder; it was gentle and a little slimy.
- Raj took a deep breath, and reached out to give Armitage the gentlest little stroke. “It’s nippy out. Let’s take him inside.”
- Here the stripped panelling was warmly gold and the pictures, mostly of the English school, were mellow and gentle in the afternoon light.
3.Docile and easily managed.
- We had a gentle swim in the lake.
4.Gradual rather than steep or sudden.
- The walks in this area have a gentle incline.
1.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.
2.To become gentle.
3.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.
1.A maggot used as bait by anglers.
- Years ago, on Victoria's Port Phillip Bay, the recognised bait for garfish were `gentles', a genteel word for maggots, which were especially grown for gar fishermen.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3893
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
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.