Definitions for gentle
ˈdʒɛn tlgen·tle

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 7 votes)Rate this definition:

1. gentle, softadjective

   soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe

   "a gentle reprimand"; "a vein of gentle irony"; "poked gentle fun at him"

2. gentleadjective

   having or showing a kindly or tender nature

   "the gentle touch of her hand"; "her gentle manner was comforting"; "a gentle sensitive nature"; "gentle blue eyes"

3. gentleadjective

   quiet and soothing

   "a gentle voice"; "a gentle nocturne"

4. aristocratic, aristocratical, blue, blue-blooded, gentle, patricianadjective

   belonging to or characteristic of the nobility or aristocracy

   "an aristocratic family"; "aristocratic Bostonians"; "aristocratic government"; "a blue family"; "blue blood"; "the blue-blooded aristocracy"; "of gentle blood"; "patrician landholders of the American South"; "aristocratic bearing"; "aristocratic features"; "patrician tastes"

5. docile, gentleadjective

   easily handled or managed

   "a gentle old horse, docile and obedient"

6. easy, gentle, softadjective

   having little impact

   "an easy pat on the shoulder"; "gentle rain"; "a gentle breeze"; "a soft (or light) tapping at the window"

7. easy, gentleverb

   marked by moderate steepness

   "an easy climb"; "a gentle slope"

8. pacify, lenify, conciliate, assuage, appease, mollify, placate, gentle, gruntleverb

   cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of

   "She managed to mollify the angry customer"

9. ennoble, gentle, entitleverb

   give a title to someone; make someone a member of the nobility

10. gentleverb

    stroke soothingly

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. gentlenoun

   A person of high birth.

   Etymology: From gentil, from gentil, from gentilis, from gens

2. gentlenoun

   A maggot used as bait by anglers

   Etymology: From gentil, from gentil, from gentilis, from gens

3. gentleverb

   to become gentle

   Etymology: From gentil, from gentil, from gentilis, from gens

4. gentleverb

   to ennoble

   Etymology: From gentil, from gentil, from gentilis, from gens

5. gentleverb

   to break; to tame; to domesticate

   Etymology: From gentil, from gentil, from gentilis, from gens

6. gentleverb

   To soothe; to calm.

   Etymology: From gentil, from gentil, from gentilis, from gens

7. gentleadjective

   Tender and amiable; of a considerate or kindly disposition

   Stuart is a gentle man, he would never hurt you.

   Etymology: From gentil, from gentil, from gentilis, from gens

8. gentleadjective

   Soft and mild rather than hard or severe

   I felt something touch my shoulder, it was gentle and a little slimy.

   Etymology: From gentil, from gentil, from gentilis, from gens

9. gentleadjective

   Docile and easily managed

   We had a gentle swim in the lake.

   Etymology: From gentil, from gentil, from gentilis, from gens

10. gentleadjective

    Gradual rather than steep or sudden

    The walks in this area have a gentle incline.

    Etymology: From gentil, from gentil, from gentilis, from gens

11. gentleadjective

    Polite and respectful rather than rude

    He gave me a gentle reminder that we had to hurry up.

    Etymology: From gentil, from gentil, from gentilis, from gens

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Gentle

   well-born; of a good family or respectable birth, though not noble

2. Gentle

   quiet and refined in manners; not rough, harsh, or stern; mild; meek; bland; amiable; tender; as, a gentle nature, temper, or disposition; a gentle manner; a gentle address; a gentle voice

3. Gentle

   a compellative of respect, consideration, or conciliation; as, gentle reader

4. Gentle

   not wild, turbulent, or refractory; quiet and docile; tame; peaceable; as, a gentle horse

5. Gentle

   soft; not violent or rough; not strong, loud, or disturbing; easy; soothing; pacific; as, a gentle touch; a gentle gallop

6. Gentlenoun

   one well born; a gentleman

7. Gentlenoun

   a trained falcon. See Falcon-gentil

8. Gentlenoun

   a dipterous larva used as fish bait

9. Gentleverb

   to make genteel; to raise from the vulgar; to ennoble

10. Gentleverb

    to make smooth, cozy, or agreeable

11. Gentleverb

    to make kind and docile, as a horse

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Gentle

   jen′tl, adj. well-born: mild and refined in manners: mild in disposition: amiable: soothing: moderate: gradual.—v.t. (Shak.) to make gentle.—n. (obs.) a person of good family: (Shak.) a trained falcon: the larva of the flesh-fly, used as a bait in angling.—n. Gentilesse′, the quality of being gentle, courtesy.—v.t. Gen′tilise, to raise to the class of gentleman.—n. Gentil′ity, good birth or extraction: good breeding: politeness of manners: genteel people: marks of gentility.—n.pl. Gen′tlefolk, people of good family.—adj. Gen′tle-heart′ed, having a gentle or kind disposition.—n. Gen′tlehood, position or character attaching to gentle birth.—n. Gen′tleness.—adv. Gent′ly.—n. Gen′trice, gentle birth, courtesy.—Gentle reader, courteous reader, an old-fashioned phrase common in the prefaces of books.—The gentle craft, a phrase used to specify shoe-making, also angling; The gentle (or gentler) sex, women in general as opposed to the stern or sterner sex. [Fr.,—L. gentilis. See Genteel.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. gentle

   A maggot or grub used as a bait by anglers.

Matched Categories

1. • Calm
   • Pet
   • Promote

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'gentle' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3334

2. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'gentle' in Adjectives Frequency: #462

How to pronounce gentle?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say gentle in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of gentle in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of gentle in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of gentle in a Sentence

1. Sophocles:

   To those who err in judgment, not in will, anger is gentle.

2. Benjamin Franklin:

   Laws too gentle are seldom obeyed; too severe, seldom executed.

3. Mo Udall:

   Lord, give us the wisdom to utter words that are gentle and tender, for tomorrow we may have to eat them.

4. Anuj Somany:

   An iron-willed, courteous person likes to be loved by the gentle heart of living beings and not loves to be liked as soft or stilled,non-living thing.

5. Dylan Thomas, Collected poems (1952):

   Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Popularity rank by frequency of use