gen·tle

(jĕn′tl)

adj. gen·tler, gen·tlest

1. Considerate or kindly in disposition; amiable and tender.

2. Not harsh or severe; mild and soft: a gentle scolding; a gentle tapping at the window.

3. Easily managed or handled; docile: a gentle horse.

4. Not steep or sudden; gradual: a gentle incline.

a. Of good family; wellborn: a child of gentle birth.

b. Suited to one of good breeding; refined and polite: a gentle greeting to a stranger.

6. Archaic Noble; chivalrous: a gentle knight.

n. Archaic

One of good birth or relatively high station.

tr.v. gen·tled, gen·tling, gen·tles

1. To make less severe or intense: The peaceful sunset gentled her dreadful mood.

2. To soothe, as by stroking; pacify.

3. To tame or break (a horse).

4. Obsolete To raise to the status of a noble.

[Middle English gentil, courteous, noble, from Old French, from Latin gentīlis, of the same clan, from gēns, gent-, clan; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]

gen′tle·ness n.

gen′tly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

gently

– politely

1. 'gently'

If you do something gently, you do it carefully and without using force, in order to avoid hurting someone or damaging something.

I shook her gently and she opened her eyes.

2. 'politely'

Don't use 'gently' to say that someone shows good manners. Use politely.

He thanked me politely.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adv.	1.	gently - in a gradual manner; "a gently sloping terrain"
	2.	gently - in a gentle manner; "he talked gently to the injured animal" mildly
	3.	gently - with little weight or force; "she kissed him lightly on the forehead" lightly, softly

Translations

بِلَطافَهبِلُطْف

laskavělehcemírně

blidt

gemächlich mild sanft

απαλά

amablemente con cuidado dulcemente ligeramente moderadamente

varovasti

doucement doucettement gentiment tranquillement

nježno

mjúklega

delicatamente gentilmente placidamente con cura con grazia

優しく

온화하게

blagonežno

varsamt

อย่างนุ่มนวล

kibarca

một cách nhẹ nhàng

文雅地轻轻地

gently

[ˈdʒentlɪ] ADV

1. (= softly, kindly) [say] → dulcemente, suavemente; [smile] → dulcemente, con dulzura; [hint, remind] → con delicadeza

2. (= carefully) [handle] → con cuidado
gently clean the wound with salt water → limpiar la herida con cuidado usando agua salada
a lotion that gently cleanses your skin → una loción que limpia la piel sin irritar
gently does it! → ¡con cuidado!, ¡despacito!

3. (= lightly) [blow, touch, push, tap] → ligeramente, suavemente
I shook her gently and she opened her eyes → la sacudí ligeramente or suavemente y abrió los ojos

4. (= slowly) [pick up speed] → poco a poco; [simmer, cook] → a fuego lento
simmer gently until the sugar dissolves → hervir a fuego lento hasta que el azúcar se disuelva

5. (= not steeply) [slope] → suavemente

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

gently

[ˈdʒɛntli] adv

[touch, move] → doucement

[say, smile] → avec douceur; [cook] → à feu doux

gently sloping → en pente douce

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

gently

adv say, smile, slope, fall → sanft; move, shake, touch, caress, handle, press → sanft, behutsam; knock → leise; stroll → gemächlich; climb → leicht; simmer, cook → langsam; treat → schonend; you must tell him gently → du musst es ihm schonend beibringen; it/she needs to be handled gently → damit/mit ihr muss man behutsam umgehen; gently does it! → sachte, sachte!; the doctor told me to take things gently → der Arzt sagte mir, dass ich es langsam angehen lassen soll (inf); to simmer gently → auf kleiner Flamme langsam kochen (lassen)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

gently

[ˈdʒɛntlɪ] adv (say, smile) → dolcemente; (touch) → lievemente, delicatamente
gently does it! → piano!

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

gentle

(ˈdʒentl) adjective

1. (of people) behaving, talking etc in a mild, kindly, pleasant way. a gentle old lady; The doctor was very gentle.

2. not strong or rough. a gentle breeze.

3. (of hills) rising gradually. a gentle slope.

ˈgently adverb

ˈgentleness noun

gently

→ بِلُطْف lehce blidt sanft απαλά con cuidado varovasti gentiment nježno delicatamente 優しく 온화하게 zachtjes vennlig łagodnie gentilmente нежно varsamt อย่างนุ่มนวล kibarca một cách nhẹ nhàng 轻轻地

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

It had a turn for quacking and squeaking,--that chair had,--either from having taken cold in early life, or from some asthmatic affection, or perhaps from nervous derangement; but, as she gently swung backward and forward, the chair kept up a kind of subdued "creechy crawchy," that would have been intolerable in any other chair.

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"Well, did you find some?" she asked from under the white kerchief, turning her handsome, gently smiling face to him.

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As he turned an angle of the building, he heard a sound as of a door gently closed, and saw in the darkness, indistinctly, the figure of a man, which instantly disappeared among the trees of the lawn.

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Do I live but for her?" Both his voice and looks were full of inexpressible tenderness when he spoke these words; and at the same time he laid gently hold on her hand, which she did not withdraw from him; to say the truth, she hardly knew what she did or suffered.

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But beauty's voice speaketh gently: it appealeth only to the most awakened souls.

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He ran home and told his Mother, saying, "Although it hurts me very much, I only touched it gently." "That was just why it stung you," said his Mother.

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Moy, to argue the point with you," he said, gently. "I can understand that my conduct must necessarily appear strange and even blameworthy, not in your eyes only, but in the eyes of others.

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Many of the meadows were under water, and in one low part of the road the water was halfway up to my knees; the bottom was good, and master drove gently, so it was no matter.

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GENTLY then--very gently, the Doctor woke the man up.

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Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

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Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore-- While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

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Then, while she still kept her eyes closed, she heard a rough voice saying, very gently,--

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