gentle

verb

gentled; gentling ˈjent-liŋ 

ˈjen-tᵊl-iŋ

transitive verb

1

a

: to make (an animal) tame and docile

b

: to make gentler

c

: mollify, placate

gentled the raging king

d

: to stroke soothingly : pet

2

: to raise from the commonalty : ennoble

intransitive verb

: to become gentle

the wind gentled

Synonyms of gentle

• appease
• calm
• comfort
• soothe

Examples of gentle in a Sentence

employees soon learned that their hot-tempered boss needed to be gentled several times a day

soothingly gentled his cat's head as she was being treated by the vet

Recent Examples on the Web

Lisiecki gentled his way through a Brahms waltz for an encore. —Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Mar. 2026

How exactly did writer-director Kleber Mendonça Filho take such grim history and add so many other genres and tones, from slapstick humor to Hitchcockian thrills to gentle family melodrama, into something this cohesive, timely — and funny? —Eric Andersson, PEOPLE, 20 Dec. 2025

Respectively played by Jonah Hill and Michael Cera, the brash Seth is the yin to gentle Evan's yang. —Ew Staff, EW.com, 3 Apr. 2025

Further, there’s some worry that by spending thousands of years finding and gentling (or executing) male channelers, humanity has begun to self-select channeling out of the gene pool. —ArsTechnica, 28 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English gentylen, derivative of gentyl gentle entry 1

First Known Use

1532, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Phrases Containing gentle

• falcon-gentle
• gentle breeze
• gentle giant
• gentle sex

Rhymes for gentle

• accidental
• compartmental
• continental
• detrimental
• elemental
• fundamental
• governmental
• incidental
• incremental
• instrumental
• interdental
• monumental

Kids Definition

gentle

1 of 2 adjective

gen·​tle

ˈjent-ᵊl

gentler

ˈjent-lər, 

-ᵊl-ər

; gentlest

ˈjent-ləst, 

-ᵊl-əst

1

: belonging or suitable to a family of high social rank

2

a

: easily handled : docile

a gentle horse

b

: not harsh : mild

gentle soap

c

: not stern or rough

gentle words

3

: soft entry 1 sense 1, soothing

a gentle murmur

4

: moderate entry 1 sense 2a

gentle slopes

gentleness noun

gently

ˈjent-lē

adverb

gentle

2 of 2 verb

gentled; gentling

ˈjent-liŋ, 

ᵊl-iŋ

1

: to make gentle or mild

2

: to make calmer : soothe