genteel
Use Genteel in a sentence
adjective
1.
belonging or suited to polite society.
2.
well-bred or refined; polite; elegant; stylish.
3.
affectedly or pretentiously polite, delicate, etc.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To genteel
00:10
Genteel
is a GRE word you need to know.
So is generate. Does it mean:
| to bring into existence; cause to be; produce. |
| characteristic of an entire class or species |
Collins
World English Dictionary
genteel (dʒɛnˈtiːl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | affectedly proper or refined; excessively polite |
| 2. | respectable, polite, and well-bred: a genteel old lady |
| 3. | appropriate to polite or fashionable society: genteel behaviour |
| [C16: from French gentil well-born; see | |
| gen'teelly | |
| —adv | |
| gen'teelness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
genteel
1599, from M.Fr. gentil "nice, graceful, pleasing," from O.Fr. "high-born, noble;" a reborrowing of the word that had early come into Eng. as gentle (q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The other way is more genteel, but no less effective.
It was his mission to inform people, particularly blacks in the military, about life in the colony as a genteel retirement.
The manners bred by his impoverished but genteel background prevented him from taking the last cookie.
Though he never starved, he lived a genteel version of a hand-to-mouth existence.
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