gentle (redirected from gentlest)

gen·tle  (jntl)

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.

5.

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 domestic animal, for instance): gentle a horse.

4. To raise to the status of a noble.

---

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

---

gentle·ness n.

gently adv.

---

gentle [ˈdʒɛnt^əl]

adj

1. having a mild or kindly nature or character

2. soft or temperate; mild; moderate a gentle scolding

3. gradual a gentle slope

4. easily controlled; tame a gentle horse

5. Archaic of good breeding; noble gentle blood

6. Archaic gallant; chivalrous

vb (tr)

1. (Individual Sports & Recreations / Horse Training, Riding & Manège) to tame or subdue (a horse)

2. to appease or mollify

3. Obsolete to ennoble or dignify

n

1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Zoology) a maggot, esp when used as bait in fishing

2. Archaic a person who is of good breeding

[from Old French gentil noble, from Latin gentīlis belonging to the same family; see gens]

gently  adv

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	gentle - cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of; "She managed to mollify the angry customer" appease, assuage, conciliate, gruntle, lenify, mollify, pacify, placate calm, still, tranquilize, tranquillise, tranquillize, calm down, quiet, quieten, lull - make calm or still; "quiet the dragons of worry and fear"
	2.	gentle - give a title to someone; make someone a member of the nobility ennoble, entitle elevate, kick upstairs, promote, upgrade, advance, raise - give a promotion to or assign to a higher position; "John was kicked upstairs when a replacement was hired"; "Women tend not to advance in the major law firms"; "I got promoted after many years of hard work" baronetise, baronetize - confer baronetcy upon; "He was baronetized for his loyalty to the country" lord - make a lord of someone knight, dub - raise (someone) to knighthood; "The Beatles were knighted"
	3.	gentle - stroke soothingly pet - stroke or caress gently; "pet the lamb"
Adj.	1.	gentle - soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe; "a gentle reprimand"; "a vein of gentle irony"; "poked gentle fun at him" soft mild - moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme; "a mild winter storm"; "a mild fever"; "fortunately the pain was mild"; "a mild rebuke"; "mild criticism"
	2.	gentle - 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" kind - having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior; "kind to sick patients"; "a kind master"; "kind words showing understanding and sympathy"; "thanked her for her kind letter"
	3.	gentle - quiet and soothing; "a gentle voice"; "a gentle nocturne" soft - (of sound) relatively low in volume; "soft voices"; "soft music"
	4.	gentle - 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" aristocratic, aristocratical, blue-blooded, patrician, blue noble - of or belonging to or constituting the hereditary aristocracy especially as derived from feudal times; "of noble birth"
	5.	gentle - easily handled or managed; "a gentle old horse, docile and obedient" docile tamed, tame - brought from wildness into a domesticated state; "tame animals"; "fields of tame blueberries"
	6.	gentle - having little impact; "an easy pat on the shoulder"; "gentle rain"; "a gentle breeze"; "a soft (or light) tapping at the window" easy, soft light - of little intensity or power or force; "the light touch of her fingers"; "a light breeze"
	7.	gentle - marked by moderate steepness; "an easy climb"; "a gentle slope" easy gradual - (of a topographical gradient) not steep or abrupt; "a gradual slope"

---

gentle

adjective

1. kind, loving, kindly, peaceful, soft, quiet, pacific, tender, mild, benign, humane, compassionate, amiable, meek, lenient, placid, merciful, kind-hearted, sweet-tempered, tender-hearted a quiet and gentle man who liked sports and enjoyed life
kind hard, rough, aggressive, fierce, harsh, cruel, savage, unkind, heartless, impolite

2. slow, easy, slight, deliberate, moderate, gradual, imperceptible His movements were gentle and deliberate.

3. moderate, low, light, easy, soft, calm, slight, mild, soothing, clement, temperate, balmy The wind had dropped to a gentle breeze.
moderate strong, powerful, violent

4. gradual, easy, slight We first practised our skiing on gentle slopes.
gradual sudden, precipitous

5. moderate, mild Cook for 15 minutes over a gentle heat.

Translations

gentle [ˈdʒentl] ADJ (gentler (compar) (gentlest (superl)))

1. (= kind, good-natured) [person] → de carácter dulce; [manner, voice] → dulce, delicado; [eyes, smile] → dulce, tierno; [hint, reminder, rebuke] → discreto; [animal] → manso, dócil
to be gentle with sb/sth (= careful) → tener cuidado con algn/algo
be gentle with him, he's had a terrible shock → ten consideración con él, ha sufrido un golpe muy duro
to poke gentle fun at sb → burlarse sin malicia de algn, burlarse cariñosamente de algn
the policy of gentle persuasion had failed → la política de la sutil persuasión había fracasado
try a little gentle persuasion, he might say yes → intenta persuadirlo un poco, puede que diga que sí
he needs a gentle push → necesita un pequeño empuje
the gentle or gentler sex (o.f.) → el bello sexo
as gentle as a lamb → más bueno que el pan, más manso que un cordero

2. (= mild) [shampoo, soap, detergent] → suave
it is gentle on the skin → no irrita la piel

3. (= light) [touch, pressure, push, breeze] → suave, ligero
there was a gentle tap at the door → se oyeron unos golpecitos a la puerta

4. (= moderate) [exercise] → moderado
cook for 30 minutes over a gentle heat → cocinar durante 30 minutos a fuego lento
we jogged along at a gentle pace → hicimos footing a un ritmo suave
it was too hot even for a gentle stroll → hacía demasiado calor incluso para pasear lentamente

5. (= not steep) [slope] → suave, poco pronunciado; [curve] → no muy cerrado
gentle rolling hills → colinas suaves y onduladas

6. (o.f.) (= noble)
of gentle birth → de noble cuna
gentle reader → estimado or querido lector

---

gentle [ˈdʒɛnt^əl] adj

[person, character] → doux*(douce)

[breeze, movement] → léger/ère

(= not steep) [slope] → doux*(douce); [hill] → petit(e)

[heat] → doux*(douce)
over a gentle heat → à feu doux

[soap] → doux*(douce)

[hint, reminder] to give a gentle hint about sth → faire une allusion discrète à qch

---

gentle

adj (+er)

person, disposition → sanft(mütig); animal → zahm; voice, eyes, manner, smile → sanft; treatment → schonend; to be gentle with somebody (physically) → sanft or behutsam mit jdm umgehen; (mentally) → sanft or einfühlsam mit jdm umgehen; to be gentle with something → vorsichtig or behutsam mit etw umgehen; as gentle as a lamb → sanft wie ein Lamm; she needs gentle treatment → sie muss behutsam behandelt werden; the gentle or gentler sex (dated) → das zarte Geschlecht

(= light, soft) touch, caress → sanft, zart; hand → sanft, behutsam; movement, pressure, breeze, wind, rain → sanft, leicht; (= low) heat → mäßig; (= not severe) hill, slope, curve, landscape → sanft; colour → sanft, zart; sound → leise; pace, stroll, exercise → gemächlich; cook over a gentle heat → bei geringer Hitze kochen; we made gentle progress → wir machten langsame, aber stetige Fortschritte

(= mild) detergent, lotion, cream → mild; this detergent is gentle on the skin → dieses Putzmittel schont die Haut

(= subtle, discreet) → mild; rebuke → sanft, mild; persuasion → freundlich, sanft; a gentle hint → eine zarte Andeutung; a gentle reminder → ein zarter Wink, ein sanfter Hinweis; to poke gentle fun at somebody, to have a gentle dig at somebody → jdn freundlich necken

(= wellborn) of gentle birth (dated form) → von edler or hoher Geburt

---

gentle [ˈdʒɛntl] adj (-r (comp) (-st (superl))) (person, slope, voice) → dolce; (touch) → delicato/a; (hint, reminder) → velato/a; (rebuke) → discreto/a; (heat, exercise) → moderato/a; (breeze, sound) → leggero/a
to be gentle with sb → trattare qn con delicatezza

---

gentle [ˈdʒɛntl] adj (-r (comp) (-st (superl))) (person, slope, voice) → dolce; (touch) → delicato/a; (hint, reminder) → velato/a; (rebuke) → discreto/a; (heat, exercise) → moderato/a; (breeze, sound) → leggero/a
to be gentle with sb → trattare qn con delicatezza

---

gentle

adj gentle [ˈdʒentl]

1 (of people) behaving, talking etc in a mild, kindly, pleasant way a gentle old lady; The doctor was very gentle. sag لَطيف любезен mírný, jemný, vlídný blid; rolig liebenswürdig ευγενικός, πράος amable, dulce leebe با نزاکت و ادب lempeä doux עדין सुशील nježan, obziran szelíd menyenangkan blíður, þægilegur gentile 優しい 온화한, 친절한 švelnus maigs; lēnprātīgs; laipns lemah lembut zachtaardig mild, blid, forsiktig miły, łagodny meigo amabil мягкий, добрый jemný, vľúdny blag nežan blid, mjuk, vänlig อ่อนโยน nazik, kibar 和善的 м'який, лагідний شائستہ hiền lành 和善的

2 not strong or rough a gentle breeze. briesie ناعِم، مُعْتَدِل мек mírný svag; blid mild απαλός suave; ligero mahe ملایم leppeä doux עדין सौम्य blag gyenge lembut vægur, mildur delicato, lieve 穏やかな 평온한 švelnus liegs lembut zacht lett, svak delikatny suave dulce лёгкий mierny mil blag mild, måttlig ค่อย ๆ; นุ่มนวล hafif 和緩的 легкий, слабкий معتدل ôn hoà 柔和的

3 (of hills) rising gradually a gentle slope. skotige opdraande مُنْحَدَر سَهْل лек mírný blid sanft ήπιος, μαλακός suave; gradual lauge تدریجی loiva doux לא תלול हल्की ढलान blag enyhe landai vægur; aflíðandi lieve ゆるやかな 완만한 nuolaidus, nestatus (par nogāzi) nolaidens landai zacht svak, jevn łagodny suave do­mol отлогий mierny položen blag svag ค่อย ๆ hafif yokuş 坡度平緩的 пологий تدریجیا بڑھنے والا thoai thoải 和缓的

adv gently

saggies بِلَطافَه нежно mírně, laskavě blidt; roligt; svagt mild ευγενικά,απαλά suavemente, dulcemente, amablemente, tiernamente leebelt با ملایمت؛ آهسته lempeästi doucement בעדינות नरमी से blago, nježno nyájasan, szelíden dengan lembut mjúklega lievemente 穏やかに 다정하게 švelniai maigi; liegi dengan lembut zacht mildt, lett, jevnt delikatnie, łagodnie suavemente cu amabilitate мягко; деликатно láskavo blago blago milt, vänligt, mjukt อย่างสุภาพ kibarca 文雅地 ніжно; обережно شائستگی سے nhẹ nhàng 文雅地

n gentleness

sagtheid لَطافَه нежност mírnost, jemnost blidhed, rolighed; svaghed die Milde ευγένεια suavidad, dulzura, amabilidad leebus نجابت؛ ملایمت lempeys douceur עדינות भलमनसाहत nježnost, krotkost előkelő származás; nyájasság kelembutan mildi; mÿkt gentilezza, dolcezza 温和 다정함 švelnumas maigums kelembutan zachtheid mildhet, letthet, jevnhet delikatność, łagodność suavidade amabilitate мягкость; деликатность jemnosť blagost blagost mildhet, vänlighet, mjukhet ความนุ่มนวล kibarlık 和善 лагідність شائستگی tính hiền lành, tính hoà nhã 和善

---

gentle → نبيل المحتد mírný blid sanft καλόκαρδος suave hellä gentil nježan delicato 優しい 온화한 zachtaardig mild łagodny gentil добрый varsam อย่างอ่อนโยน kibar dịu dàng 文雅的