genteel

adjective

jen-ˈtēl How to pronounce genteel (audio)
Definition of genteelnext
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of genteel Ciba’s account of Williams’s posthumous management shows how erasure can operate through genteel forms. — Literary Hub, 26 June 2026 The genteel record producer did not look the part of a revolutionary. — David Kamp, Air Mail, 13 June 2026 Some feel the program has become too genteel and needs more of the on-screen dramatics of former correspondent Mike Wallace. — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 1 June 2026 Schlather’s approach is the opposite of the genteel Spoleto staging, which invoked the opulent sets and costumes of the Met’s designer, Cecil Beaton, on a smaller stage. — Russell Platt, New Yorker, 20 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for genteel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for genteel
  1. polite
  2. civilized
  3. aristocratic
  4. gracious
  5. proper
  6. cultured
  7. noble
  8. civil
Adjective
  • In Berkeley, where California clay culture yanked ceramics out of the category of polite craft and into something huge, physical, ugly, and beautiful, Heilmann learned to weld.
    — Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Bukele’s manner is polite but imperious, slow to bestow approval.
    — Daniel Castro, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of polite
Adjective
  • Leave it in its normal mode and the SQ5 behaves like a civilized luxury crossover.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The car may be more civilized than its predecessors, but its mill is still expected to produce up to 900 hp and redline at 9,000 rpm.
    — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of civilized
Adjective
  • Here’s one book written by this aristocratic Thai woman almost 80 years ago.
    — Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2026
  • In it, a twelve-year-old boy, Cosimo, rebels against his aristocratic family, and the Enlightenment’s false divide between nature and culture, by climbing a holm oak and spending his life in the canopy.
    — Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of aristocratic
Adjective
  • If this doesn’t seem like a gracious revelation, there’s a point to the deep horror that Manchevski draws out here.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026
  • When the two first meet in a dressing room during the pilot, Jaymes is gracious while Barnes is condescending.
    — Maira Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of gracious
Adjective
  • In an Early Childhood classroom, this might include children hanging up their belongings, cleaning a spill, returning work to its proper location, and helping care for plants, animals, or the classroom.
    — Jose Bolaños, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Most routine claims in Louisville, though, center on proper documentation and clear medical evidence rather than extraordinary employer actions.
    — Jason Phillips, Ascend Agency, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of proper
Adjective
  • For instance, in the Hartford student apartments, generous-sized, bathroom vanities with double sinks are topped with cultured marble.
    — Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 9 Aug. 2026
  • As joint capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1873 to 1918, Budapest was one of the liveliest, most cultured, and prosperous cities in Europe; that golden era saw the construction of grand boulevards and numerous splendid buildings.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of cultured
Adjective
  • The historic home, situated between Via Rodari and Piazza Roma, dates to the 16th and 17th centuries and takes its name from a noble clan that included Pope Innocent XI, head of the Catholic Church in the late 1600s.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Next weekend’s slate of new releases looks a lot like this week’s leaderboards — a ton of bright contenders who will engage in a noble, if doomed effort to topple the reigning kings.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of noble
Adjective
  • The federal announcement also included criminal charges against two former Forney ISD educators and a civil settlement with the district over allegations that officials failed to properly report misconduct.
    — Amelia Mugavero, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The jury had already ruled in March that Meta should be forced to pay $375 million in civil penalties for violating New Mexico's unfair practices act.
    — Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of civil

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genteel
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Cite this Entry

“Genteel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/genteel. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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