1
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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2
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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3
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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4
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
Dinklage is particularly amusing as the giddy, genteel Prater, while Ritter balances wry disdain with flirtatious charm as Mia. Hall is, as always, entertaining as Dexter, delivering his character’s signature blend of deadpan humor and an earnest façade.
—
EW.com, 10 July 2025
There are contemporary costumes, hairstyles, props, scenic elements and characters’ line delivery, but central character Blanche DuBois seems to exist, both mentally and physically, in the more genteel South of the 1930s.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 July 2025
His fiction is set all over the place—genteel backwaters like Miami, Hollywood, and Atlantic City, with excursions as far afield as the Dominican Republic, Italy, and Israel.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
Appropriately, the 31-year-old actress speaks with a genteel British accent—something that might surprise those who know her as Jinny St. George, the ambitious, new-money American girl in The Buccaneers, Apple TV+’s Gilded Age drama, which is currently in its second season.
—Paulina Prosnitz, Air Mail, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for genteel
EW.com, 10 July 2025
There are contemporary costumes, hairstyles, props, scenic elements and characters’ line delivery, but central character Blanche DuBois seems to exist, both mentally and physically, in the more genteel South of the 1930s.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 July 2025
His fiction is set all over the place—genteel backwaters like Miami, Hollywood, and Atlantic City, with excursions as far afield as the Dominican Republic, Italy, and Israel.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
Appropriately, the 31-year-old actress speaks with a genteel British accent—something that might surprise those who know her as Jinny St. George, the ambitious, new-money American girl in The Buccaneers, Apple TV+’s Gilded Age drama, which is currently in its second season.
—Paulina Prosnitz, Air Mail, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for genteel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for genteel
Adjective
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These polite pleasantries waste precious attention.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Maikol Gabriel López Lizano was two years older than Acosta Peña, warm and polite.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Butler and Malkovich turn bullying into hambone art, and Isaac magnetizes our sympathy as the daredevil but still relatively civilized Nick, who’s caught in the middle of all this.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
3 Sep. 2025
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But the needs of civilized society have a way of intruding.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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When Coverley and the girls returned to England, in 1969, Lucian arranged for Bella to spend time with some aristocratic hippies who travelled around southern England in caravans.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
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While its aristocratic history may be a thing of the past, the hotel (along with its grounds) does still exude the stately, elegant aura of a noble mansion.—
Erica Wertheim Zohar,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Percussion and a choir imbued the ballad with a pulse, and the gracious Warren quickly turned to clap for the singers at song’s end.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
8 Sep. 2025
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The 63-year-old chef helms the kitchen at Vila Joya—the restaurant of a gracious boutique hotel in Portugal that shares its name—which earned one Michelin star in 1995 and a second in 1999.—
Mike DeSimone,
Robb Report,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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After the 1-0 win, Bright spoke to the media about being ‘proper English’.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
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The proper name for the show is IAA Mobility 2025, short for Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung.—
Neil Winton,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Built with government backing, MICAS is part of a bid to attract more cultured and affluent travelers.—
Denny Lee,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Sep. 2025
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This suggests that whatever they are being used for is not happening often in these cultured cells.—
Veronique Greenwood,
Quanta Magazine,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The affection Agnes holds for her children and the anger aimed at her husband, not to mention a world cruel enough to rob her of a child, are both tuned with precision to crack your noble heart.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
8 Sep. 2025
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For the Estarházy’s have been the preeminent Hungarian noble family, with origins in the Middle Ages and the greatest landowners, since long before 1776 was even a notion in the mind of Thomas Jefferson.—
Louis J. Esterhazy,
Footwear News,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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In July, a Santa Clara County jury ruled that Herchen had civil liability for the November 29, 2019 death of 36-year-old Alice Ku, who was last seen alive while the two were vacationing in the area of Hualien, Taiwan.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
13 Sep. 2025
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That coverage was at odds with fostering civil dialogue and being willing to listen to the points of view of those who have differing opinions.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Genteel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/genteel. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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