gen·teel

[jen-teel]
adjective
1.
belonging or suited to polite society.
2.
well-bred or refined; polite; elegant; stylish.
3.
affectedly or pretentiously polite, delicate, etc.

Origin:
1590–1600; < French gentil; see gentle

gen·teel·ly, adverb
gen·teel·ness, noun
pseu·do·gen·teel, adjective
qua·si-gen·teel, adjective
qua·si-gen·teel·ly, adverb
un·gen·teel, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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characteristic of an entire class or species
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World English Dictionary
genteel (dʒɛnˈtiːl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
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 gentle]
 
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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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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