gentle

SayJEN-tuhl/ˈd͡ʒɛntl̩/UK/ˈdʒɛntl̩/

Verbgentles, gentling, gentled

Noun pluralgentles

13 meanings of gentle

Practice

1
adjective
Mild and soft in character or effect, with nothing harsh or severe about it.
The nurse spoke in a gentle voice to calm the frightened child.
A gentle rain fell steadily over the fields all afternoon.
Similarsoft, mild, light, soothing, quiet
Oppositeharsh, loud, heavy, violent
Note
The everyday sense, and the one with the most constructions. Things can be gentle on something: mineral sunscreens, one 2023 article notes, 'may be gentler on sensitized skin.' Light can be gentle as well as touch, as in Margery Allingham's pictures 'mellow and gentle in the afternoon light.' Both comparatives are correct, gentler and more gentle. Gentlest often softens a small act further, as in David Walliams's 'the gentlest little stroke.'
2
adjective
Tender and amiable, having a considerate and kindly nature.
She was known as a gentle soul, always ready to comfort those in distress.
Their gentle host made every guest feel welcome and cared for.
Similarkind, tender, kindly, mild, caring
Oppositeharsh, cruel, unkind, rough
3
adjective
Rising, falling, or changing gradually rather than steeply or abruptly.
The road follows a gentle incline toward the valley floor.
A gentle curve in the river slowed the boat's pace.
Similargradual, slight, easy, moderate, mild
Oppositesteep, sharp, abrupt
4
adjective
Courteous and considerate in manner, with no trace of rudeness.
A gentle correction from the teacher spared the student any embarrassment.
His gentle manner of refusing kept everyone at ease.
Similarpolite, tactful, courteous, gracious, diplomatic
Oppositerude, blunt, harsh, brusque
5
adjective
Docile and easily controlled, not difficult to handle.
The mare proved gentle enough for novice riders to handle alone.
A gentle old horse stood patiently while the children petted it.
Similardocile, tame, placid, quiet, manageable
Oppositewild, unruly, fractious
6
verbtransitive
To soothe or calm someone, or to make something milder.
The trainer gentled the frightened horse before leading it out.
A soft lullaby can gentle a restless child into sleep.
Similarsoothe, calm, settle, quiet, pacify
Oppositeagitate, upset, excite, disturb
7
verbtransitive
To break in, tame, or domesticate an animal so it accepts handling.
Experienced handlers gentle young horses gradually, building trust over many sessions.
She gentled the mustang until it accepted a rider.
Similartame, break, domesticate, train
Note
A horse handler's verb. You gentle a wild animal, and afterward it has been gentled. Frank Leslie's The Killing Breed (2008) uses both forms in one breath: 'gentle him as Wolf had been gentled.' The meaning differs from the soothing verb in how long it lasts. Soothing calms an animal for the moment, while gentling in this sense leaves it permanently tame and ready to be handled.
8
verbintransitive
To grow calmer, softer, or milder.
Her expression gentled as the child approached.
Storms often gentle once they move over land.
Similarsoften, calm, mellow, ease, subside
Oppositeharden, intensify, strengthen
Note
The verb with no object: a voice, a tone or a look gentles by itself, with no one doing the softening. Its past form is gentled, as when a speaker's grim tone 'gentled' as he went on. When someone does the calming to someone or something else, the verb takes an object instead, and that is its causative partner, as in gentling a restless child.
9
nouncountable
A maggot of the kind that anglers put on a hook as bait.
She threaded a wriggling gentle onto the hook before casting.
Anglers often keep gentles in sawdust to slow them down.
Similarmaggot
Note
Angling's polite name for a maggot. The Fisherman Who Laughed (1983) calls gentles 'a genteel word for maggots,' grown especially as garfish bait on Victoria's Port Phillip Bay. Anglers usually speak of them in the plural, as in Douglas Jerrold's 'an angler's box of gentles' (1846). The joke runs deep, because genteel and gentle come from the same Latin word.
10
nouncountable
A trained falcon, also known as a falcon-gentle.
She flew her gentle at herons along the marsh.
The falconer hooded the gentle between flights.
Similarfalcon
Note
A falconer's term. Its fuller form, falcon-gentil, keeps the Old French spelling of gentil, 'high-born, noble.' The word ties the bird to the same idea of good breeding found in the 'well-born' adjective, so a gentle is a falcon of noble kind.

Less common meanings

11
adjectivearchaic
Born into a good or respectable family, though not of noble rank.
A young man of gentle birth, he was raised to manage the family estate.
the studies wherein our noble and gentle youth ought to bestow their time
[1644], [John Milton], Of Education. To Master Samuel Hartlib
Note
Here the word keeps its oldest meaning. Latin gentilis, 'of the same family or clan,' reached English through Old French gentil, 'high-born.' It named a middle rank: Johnson's Universal Encyclopedia sorts families into noble, gentle or simple, and Milton writes of 'our noble and gentle youth.' In modern prose it sounds archaic, so keep it to set phrases like Scott's 'of gentle blood.' The same Latin word also gave English gentile, genteel and jaunty.
12
nounarchaic
A person born into a family of high social rank.
A gentle of the old court, he expected deference wherever he went.
Gentles, methinks you frown.
c. 1590, William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”
Note
Mostly a plural, and often a form of address to a whole company. Shakespeare's 'Gentles, methinks you frown' speaks to a gathering of the well-born. The word now sounds archaic, but it lives on where people recreate the past. Lizzie Stark's Leaving Mundania (2012) uses gentles for the rich and noble few of medieval societies, set against the peasants. For the rank itself, see the 'well-born' adjective.
13
verbobsoletetransitive
To make noble; to raise a person to noble rank.
Note
A Shakespearean usage the language did not keep. In it, shared bloodshed 'shall gentle his condition,' raising a common soldier ('be he ne'er so vile') to a brother's rank. The idea is the one behind the 'well-born' adjective: making someone gentle in station. The sense is obsolete. Modern English says ennoble, and gentle as a verb now means to calm, soften or tame.

Practice

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Origin

This word comes from Middle English gentil ("courteous, noble"), from Old French gentil ("high-born, noble"), which came from Latin gentilis ("of the same family or clan"), from gens (a Roman "clan"). It is a doublet of gentile, genteel, and jaunty.