1
as in weakly
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2
as in tenderly
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gently
Brake gently as needed - Brake normally if the vehicle has anti-lock brakes and pump brakes gently if in an older vehicle.
—
Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Mar. 2026
Apply coconut oil up and down the zipper, then gently pull it up and down to work the oil into the teeth.
—Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Mar. 2026
Place a dab of olive oil on a soft cloth and gently rub the stained area.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 4 Mar. 2026
Below, the sea swelled gently against the empty beach.
—Vic O'Sullivan, Travel + Leisure, 4 Mar. 2026
The serum in the mascara-like application gently softens and styles fly-aways in a pinch.
—Kaitlin Clapinski, InStyle, 4 Mar. 2026
To clean a cast-iron pan before donating it, gently scrub it using a non-abrasive sponge and hot water.
—Alexandra Kelly, Martha Stewart, 4 Mar. 2026
One feature that makes the scrapers unique is their design, which consists of rounded, straight, and curved edges all made to gently clean in and around different nooks and crannies with ease.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 4 Mar. 2026
Irish soda bread warms gently in the oven.
—Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 4 Mar. 2026
Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Mar. 2026
Apply coconut oil up and down the zipper, then gently pull it up and down to work the oil into the teeth.
—Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Mar. 2026
Place a dab of olive oil on a soft cloth and gently rub the stained area.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 4 Mar. 2026
Below, the sea swelled gently against the empty beach.
—Vic O'Sullivan, Travel + Leisure, 4 Mar. 2026
The serum in the mascara-like application gently softens and styles fly-aways in a pinch.
—Kaitlin Clapinski, InStyle, 4 Mar. 2026
To clean a cast-iron pan before donating it, gently scrub it using a non-abrasive sponge and hot water.
—Alexandra Kelly, Martha Stewart, 4 Mar. 2026
One feature that makes the scrapers unique is their design, which consists of rounded, straight, and curved edges all made to gently clean in and around different nooks and crannies with ease.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 4 Mar. 2026
Irish soda bread warms gently in the oven.
—Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 4 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gently
Adverb
-
Instead, the commissioner weakly would not even commit to an investigation of Tisch at the Super Bowl.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
24 Feb. 2026
-
In 1946, Congress responded weakly to mounting overseas food needs.—
Peter Simons,
The Conversation,
16 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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The making of such a film would look a lot like the funny, tenderly melancholic, and wonderful Candidates of Death.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
25 Feb. 2026
-
In one picture, a slim teen-ager reaches over tentatively, tenderly, to peel a bandage off another boy’s bare thigh, a moment both touching and wonderfully matter-of-fact.—
Vince Aletti,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
The liquid bronzer also features light-diffusing silica that softly blurs texture, and antioxidant-rich elderberry pairs with soothing botanicals like evening primrose to help keep dry, mature skin comfortable.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
5 Mar. 2026
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Below is a frosted lens of durable ABS that softly diffuses the LED light.—
Miles Walls,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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But as our perceptions of Clark shift with various revelations, Bateman masterfully modifies his bearing from blandly sinister to sweetly sincere and back again.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
1 Mar. 2026
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This native honeysuckle is a much better choice than the sweetly scented but invasive Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica).—
Anne Readel,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Feb. 2026
Adverb
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As servers delicately navigate around the women, serving plates of food that will never be touched, micro-aggressions are tossed, disguised as jokes.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Poison Girl is delicately sweet, with a prominent orange blossom top note and a romantic vanilla base.—
Ariel Wodarcyk,
InStyle,
22 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
In an interview with US conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, the ambassador was asked about his understanding of a biblical verse suggesting that land including parts of Egypt, Syria and Iraq had been divinely promised to the Jewish people.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
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When Dunya’s friend Sheefah encourages her to challenge traditions that are supposed to be divinely mandated, certain questions emerge in her mind.—
Hafsa Lodi,
Vogue,
17 Feb. 2026
Adverb
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Heathcliff’s racial ambiguity — so central to the novel’s violence and otherness — is feebly erased.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Feb. 2026
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One man aboard the boat knew how to navigate the mangroves and sandbars of the keys, and with the late summer sun beating down on the rafters, the boat pushed out feebly into the open ocean.—
Miriam Pensack,
The Dial,
30 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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Williams says the same approach can help caregivers respond more compassionately when someone with dementia expresses a mistaken belief, confusing idea, or hallucination.—
Brian Unger,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
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Sophie processes this quickly, and responds very compassionately and supportively given the time and historical context.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gently.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gently. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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