gracious

adjective gra·cious \ ˈgrā-shəs \

Definition of gracious

1 a obsolete :godly

b archaic :pleasing, acceptable

2 a :marked by kindness and courtesy

a gracious host

b :graceful

c :marked by tact and delicacy :urbane

d :characterized by charm, good taste, generosity of spirit, and the tasteful leisure of wealth and good breeding

gracious living

3 :merciful, compassionate —used conventionally of royalty and high nobility

my gracious lord, the Duke of Windsor

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graciously

adverb

—

graciousness

noun

See gracious defined for English-language learners

See gracious defined for kids

Examples of gracious in a Sentence

This is not a surprise given the welcome, gracious atmosphere, the uncommon competence of the kitchen, with its familiar Little Italy Italian menu … and the restaurant's credible wine list. —Mark Bittman, New York Times, 26 June 2002
If there are not too many in the group, you might inquire solicitously about their health. If you are in a particularly gracious mood, you might even give them a brief resume of your physical condition. —Groucho Marx, letter, 15 Nov. 1951, in The Groucho Letters, 1987
Phoebe closed her eyes, seeing her father moving like a shadow among his guests, gracious, smiling, pouring wine and exchanging greetings. —Judith Berry Griffin, Phoebe the Spy, 1977
The reception started in orderly enough fashion—gracious and leisurely. Paula Locker, the President of the Club, met me at the door, and I took my place in line with her, with Fishbait Miller doing the introducing. —Lady Bird Johnson, A White House Diary, 1970
Thank you for your gracious hospitality.
The magazine promotes gracious living.

Recent Examples of gracious from the Web

Owner Joe Valentino was gracious and very helpful with accommodations for my event.

— chris folks, Laurel Leader, "Three youth achieve Boy Scouts' highest rank of Eagle Scout [West Laurel]," 27 July 2017
Ellie Wildermuth was the gracious host of the recent Kiwanis Club’s summer social gathering.

— jane napier neely, La Cañada Valley Sun, "The Valley Line: La Cañada Kiwanians and ‘floaters’ hold summer gatherings," 24 July 2017
Meanwhile, perfect the art of the gracious white lie.

— charlotte cowles, The Cut, "How to Survive Wedding Season When You’re Broke," 20 July 2017
The gracious gesture was unnecessary, given the growth of the Stanton brand leading up to Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.

— steven wine, The Seattle Times, "Giancarlo Stanton expands his brand at All-Star Game," 10 July 2017
Everyone is expected to be gracious to guests and represent the company.

— heeseung kim, Cosmopolitan, "What It's Really Like to Be a Cruise Ship Singer," 3 July 2017
Especially if your host is a gracious rock star (Tilda Swinton).

— luisa rollenhagen, GQ, "The Greatest Swimming-Pool Scenes in Movie History," 30 June 2017
But even in this moment of rejection, Jonathan was unflinchingly gracious, complimentary, good-natured, and confident.

— jay willis, GQ, "Let The Bachelorette Teach You How to Handle Getting Dumped Like an Adult," 28 June 2017
OSU was gracious in defeat, despite their struggles at the plate.

— john roach, NOLA.com, "What Oregon State's players said about LSU's win," 24 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gracious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of gracious

Middle English, from Anglo-French gracieus, from Latin gratiosus enjoying favor, agreeable, from gratia

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

gracious Synonyms

Synonyms

affable, cordial, genial, hospitable, sociable

Antonyms

inhospitable, ungenial, ungracious, unsociable

Related Words

agreeable, amiable, benign, benignant, congenial, convivial, friendly, kind, kindly, neighborly; accommodating, obliging; considerate, courteous, polite, thoughtful; cosmopolitan, sophisticated, urbane; approachable, attentive, outgoing

Near Antonyms

boorish, churlish; abrupt, blunt, brusque (also brusk), curt, gruff, sharp, snippy; antisocial, disagreeable, discourteous, ill-mannered, impolite, rude, sullen, surly, uncivil, unfriendly, unkind, unmannerly; crabbed, crabby, cross, crusty, grumpy

Synonym Discussion of gracious

gracious, cordial, affable, genial, sociable mean markedly pleasant and easy in social intercourse. gracious implies courtesy and kindly consideration.

- the gracious award winner thanked her colleagues

cordial stresses warmth and heartiness.

- our host was cordial as he greeted us

affable implies easy approachability and readiness to respond pleasantly to conversation or requests or proposals.

- though wealthy, she was affable to all

genial stresses cheerfulness and even joviality.

- a genial companion with a ready quip

sociable suggests a genuine liking for the companionship of others.

- sociable people who enjoy entertaining

GRACIOUS Defined for English Language Learners

gracious

adjective

Definition of gracious for English Language Learners

: very polite in a way that shows respect
: having or showing the attractive things (such as charm, good taste, and comfort) that are associated with having a lot of money
—used as an interjection to express mild surprise or for emphasis