Dictionary Definition
gentle adj
1 soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe; "a
gentle reprimand"; "a vein of gentle irony"; "poked gentle fun at
him"
2 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 quiet and soothing; "a gentle voice"; "a gentle
nocturne"
4 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" [syn:
aristocratic,
aristocratical,
blue, blue-blooded,
patrician]
5 easily handled or managed; "a gentle old horse,
docile and obedient" [syn: docile]
6 having little impact; "an easy pat on the
shoulder"; "gentle rain"; "a gentle breeze"; "a soft (or light)
tapping at the window" [syn: easy, soft]
7 marked by moderate steepness; "an easy climb";
"a gentle slope" [syn: easy]
Verb
1 cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the
good will of; "She managed to mollify the angry customer" [syn:
pacify, lenify, conciliate, assuage, appease, mollify, placate, gruntle]
3 stroke soothingly
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
Adjective
Derived terms
Translations
Tender and amiable
- Chinese: 斯文 (sīwén)
- Finnish: herttainen
Soft and mild rather than hard or severe
- Finnish: hellävarainen, leuto
Gradual rather than steep or sudden
- Finnish: vähittäinen
Extensive Definition
Gentle may refer to:
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
accepting, acclimate, acclimatize, accommodate, accustom, adapt, adjust, affable, agreeable, ambling, amiable, appease, aristocratic, balmy, barely audible, bed, bed down, benign, bland, bleeding, bonhomous, break, break in, break to harness,
bridle, broken, brush, bust, calm, calm down, case harden,
cautious, charitable, chastened, chivalrous, circumspect, claudicant, clement, commiserative, compassionate, complaisant, compose, condition, condolent, confirm, controllable, cool, cordial, cradle, crawling, creeping, creeping like snail,
cultivated, cultured, curry, currycomb, cushion, dainty, decrescendo, deliberate, delicate, dim, distant, docile, domesticate, domesticated, domesticize, dovelike, drench, ducal, dulcify, ease, easy, easy-natured, easygoing, establish, even out, exalted, faint, faint-voiced, faltering, familiarize, feeble, feed, fix, flagging, fluff, fodder, foot-dragging, forbearant, forbearing, forgiving, genial, genteel, gentlemanlike, gentlemanly, good-humored,
good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, gradual, groom, habituate, halcyon, half-heard, halting, handle, harden, harness, high, highbred, hitch, hobbled, hobbling, housebreak, housebroken, human, humane, humble, hush, hushed, idle, indistinct, indolent, indulgent, inure, judicious, kind, kindly, kinglike, kingly, knead, knightly, ladylike, lamblike, languid, languorous, lax, laxate, lazy, leisurely, lenient, light, limber, limber up, limping, litter, loosen, low, lull, lumbering, manage, manageable, mash, massage, meek, mellow, mellowy, melting, merciful, mild, mild as milk, milden, milk, moderate, mollified, mollify, murmured, naturalize, noble, nonresistive, nonrigid, nonviolent, of gentle blood,
of rank, orient, orientate, pacific, pacifistic, pacify, patient, patrician, peaceable, peaceful, pianissimo, piano, pitying, placid, pleasant, pleasing, plump, poking, poky, polished, pour balm into,
princelike, princely, prudent, pulp, queenlike, queenly, quell, quiet, quite the lady, refined, relax, relaxed, reluctant, rest, restful, rock, rock to sleep, rub down,
ruthful, saddle, sauntering, scarcely heard,
season, serene, shake up, shuffling, slack, slothful, slow, slow as death, slow as
molasses, slow as slow, slow-crawling, slow-foot, slow-going,
slow-legged, slow-moving, slow-paced, slow-poky, slow-running,
slow-sailing, slow-stepped, sluggish, smash, smooth, smooth down, smooth over,
smoothen, snail-paced,
snaillike, sober, soft, soft as putty, soft-sounding,
soft-voiced, soften,
soften up, softened,
softhearted,
soothe, soothing, squash, stabilize, staggering, steady, still, strolling, subaudible, subdue, subdued, supple, sweet, sweet-tempered, sympathetic, sympathizing, tame, tamed, temperate, tend, tender, tenderhearted, tenderize, tentative, thoughtful, titled, toddling, tolerant, tone down, tortoiselike, tottering, tractable, train, tranquil, tranquilize, trudging, tune down, turtlelike, unclear, understanding, undisturbed, unhurried, unruffled, untroubled, waddling, warmhearted, water, weak, weak-voiced, well-bred,
well-brought-up, well-natured, whisper-soft, whispered, wont, yoke