gentle
gentle is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 10 senses, and appears in Roget's Thesaurus (1911) with 40 related terms. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.
Definitions
- 1.Quiet and refined in manners; not rough, harsh, or stern; mild; meek; bland; amiable; tender; as, a gentle nature, temper, or disposition; a gentle manner; a gentle address; a gentle voice.
- 2.A compellative of respect, consideration, or conciliation; as, gentle reader. "Gentle sirs." "Gentle Jew." "Gentle servant." Shak.
- 3.Not wild, turbulent, or refractory; quiet and docile; tame; peaceable; as, a gentle horse.
- 4.Soft; not violent or rough; not strong, loud, or disturbing; easy; soothing; pacific; as, a gentle touch; a gentle gallop. "Gentle music." Sir J. Davies. O sleep! it is a gentle thing. Coleridge. The gentle craft, the art or trade of shoemaking. -- Gentle, Tame, Mild, Meek. Gentle describes the natural disposition; tame, that which is subdued by training; mild implies a temper which is, by nature, not easily provoked; meek, a spirit which has been schooled to mildness by discipline or suffering. The lamb is gentle; the domestic fowl is tame; John, the Apostle, was mild; Moses was meek.
- 5.One well born; a gentleman. [Obs.] Gentles, methinks you frown. Shak.
- 6.A trained falcon. See Falcon-gentil.
- 7.(Zoöl.) A dipterous larva used as fish bait.
- 8.To make genteel; to raise from the vulgar; to ennoble. [Obs.] Shak.
- 9.To make smooth, cozy, or agreeable. [R. or Poet.] To gentle life's descent, We shut our eyes, and think it is a plain. Young.
- 10.To make kind and docile, as a horse. [Colloq.]
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
Synonyms
Synonyms (Webster's 1913)
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
Related terms (Roget's 1911)
- acclivity
- allow
- ascent
- bank
- beach
- bear
- bend
- bevel
- bias
- cant
- clemency
- clement
- compassion
- compassionate
- crookedness
- curve
- declivity
- descent
- devexity
- dip
- distortion
- downhill
- easy
- easy-going
- fall
- favor
- forbearance
- forbearing
- gentleness
- give
- gradient
- ground
- have
- hill
- his
- inclination
- indulge
- indulgence
- indulgency
- indulgent
Source: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
Related questions
Reverse-dictionary questions
Definition-first questions whose answer is gentle.
- What is quiet and refined in manners; not rough, harsh, or stern; mild; meek; bland; amiable; tender; as, a gentle nature, temper, or disposition; a gentle manner; a gentle address; a gentle voice called?
- What is a compellative of respect, consideration, or conciliation; as, gentle reader. "Gentle sirs." "Gentle Jew." "Gentle servant." Shak called?
- What is not wild, turbulent, or refractory; quiet and docile; tame; peaceable; as, a gentle horse called?
- What is one well born; a gentleman. [Obs.] Gentles, methinks you frown. Shak called?
- What is a dipterous larva used as fish bait called?
- What is to make genteel; to raise from the vulgar; to ennoble. [Obs.] Shak called?
- What is to make smooth, cozy, or agreeable. [R. or Poet.] To gentle life's descent, We shut our eyes, and think it is a plain. Young called?
- What is to make kind and docile, as a horse. [Colloq.] called?
Sources
- Definitions: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Synonyms & antonyms: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
- Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/word/gentle
- Steward: Jason Burns