GENTEEL Synonyms: 249 Similar and Opposite Words

genteel

adjective

jen-ˈtēl

as in polite

following the established traditions of refined society and good taste those bygone days when young women were taught how to drink tea while wearing long gloves and other genteel ways of behaving

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as in civilized

having or showing a taste for the fine arts and gracious living she grew up in genteel old Savannah

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as in aristocratic

of high birth, rank, or station the genteel ladies never mixed with the servants prohibited by reason of her genteel birth from marrying the man she loved

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as in gracious

showing consideration, courtesy, and good manners his genteel gesture of holding the door for the ladies

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of genteel Where Aston’s mid-engine milestone distances itself from its 1,139 hp Valkyrie sibling is in its ability to display a more genteel demeanor in public. —

Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 25 Apr. 2026 In this case, a genteel woman’s tradition is set against the sound of military helicopters whirring overhead. —

Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 Apr. 2026 That’s why the institution of the post-presidency has traditionally functioned as a genteel club in which constraints of professional courtesy restrain former presidents from commenting on the work of the current officeholder. —

Scott Curran, Time, 10 Mar. 2026 Hicks also bristled at my suggestion that this was a genteel, transparent form of public shaming — information that donors and voters could use to pressure lower-performing candidates out of the race, thus increasing the chance that at least one Democrat advances to November. —

Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for genteel

Recent Examples of Synonyms for genteel

Adjective

This week, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal, together with Representative Ro Khanna, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that reads less like a polite congressional inquiry and more like a prosecutorial brief.

— Mayra Rodriguez Valladares, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026
Off the pitch, Kvaratskhelia was generous, obsessed over his self-improvement, and unfailingly polite.

— Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 29 May 2026