| Learning / English Dictionary |
GENTLE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Marked by moderate steepness
Example:
a gentle slope
Synonyms:
easy; gentle
Classified under:
Similar:
gradual ((of a topographical gradient) not steep or abrupt)
Derivation:
gentleness (the property possessed by a slope that is very gradual)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Having little impact
Example:
a soft (or light) tapping at the window
Synonyms:
easy; gentle; soft
Classified under:
Similar:
light (of little intensity or power or force)
Derivation:
gentleness (acting in a manner that is gentle and mild and even-tempered)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Having or showing a kindly or tender nature
Example:
gentle blue eyes
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
kind (having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior)
Derivation:
gentleness (acting in a manner that is gentle and mild and even-tempered)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Quiet and soothing
Example:
a gentle nocturne
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
soft ((of sound) relatively low in volume)
Derivation:
gentleness (acting in a manner that is gentle and mild and even-tempered)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
Example:
poked gentle fun at him
Synonyms:
gentle; soft
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
mild (moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme)
Derivation:
gentleness (acting in a manner that is gentle and mild and even-tempered)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Belonging to or characteristic of the nobility or aristocracy
Example:
patrician tastes
Synonyms:
aristocratic; aristocratical; blue; blue-blooded; gentle; patrician
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
noble (of or belonging to or constituting the hereditary aristocracy especially as derived from feudal times)
Derivation:
gentility (elegance by virtue of fineness of manner and expression)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Easily handled or managed
Example:
a gentle old horse, docile and obedient
Synonyms:
docile; gentle
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
tame; tamed (brought from wildness into a domesticated state)
II. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they gentle ... he / she / it gentles
Past simple: gentled
Past participle: gentled
-ing form: gentling
Sense 1
Meaning:
Stroke soothingly
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "gentle" is one way to...):
pet (stroke or caress gently)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Sense 2
Meaning:
Cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
Example:
She managed to mollify the angry customer
Synonyms:
appease; assuage; conciliate; gentle; gruntle; lenify; mollify; pacify; placate
Classified under:
Hypernyms (to "gentle" is one way to...):
calm; calm down; lull; quiet; quieten; still; tranquilize; tranquillise; tranquillize (make calm or still)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Sense 3
Meaning:
Give a title to someone; make someone a member of the nobility
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "gentle" is one way to...):
advance; elevate; kick upstairs; promote; raise; upgrade (give a promotion to or assign to a higher position)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "gentle"):
baronetise; baronetize (confer baronetcy upon)
lord (make a lord of someone)
dub; knight (raise (someone) to knighthood)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Context examples:
"Nay," answered the old man with gentle positiveness.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
The hand caressing his hair paused perceptibly, then went on with the same gentle stroke.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
You may find payments that are due you will be slow to arrive, so you may have to send clients gentle statement reminders.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
The sound was repeated, and then there came a gentle tap at the door.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
But Maud said, “Tut, tut,” in gentle reproval, and then asked why I was a blithering idiot.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Gradually her eyes closed, and she sat, stock still; only by the gentle heaving of her bosom could one know that she was alive.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Deleting PIEZO2 eliminated gentle touch sensations in mice as well as those felt during inflammation and injury.
(Study identifies gene that makes gentle touch feel painful after injury, National Institutes of Health)
Bleeding that is induced by gentle manipulation of the gingival tissue at the depth of the gingival sulcus.
(Bleeding on Probing, NCI Thesaurus)
But it is a "gentle giant," say researchers, because it looks like it has been sitting quietly over billions of years, possibly sipping hydrogen from the filamentary structure of intergalactic space.
(Hubble Surveys Gigantic Galaxy, NASA)
They found that the target neurons belong to two broad categories, both of which were insensitive to gentle stimulation.
(Study uncovers specialized mouse neurons that play a unique role in pain, National Institutes of Health)
