1
as in polite
following the established traditions of refined society and good taste
those bygone days when young women were taught how to drink tea while wearing long gloves and other genteel ways of behaving
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2
as in civilized
having or showing a taste for the fine arts and gracious living
she grew up in genteel old Savannah
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3
as in aristocratic
of high birth, rank, or station
the genteel ladies never mixed with the servants prohibited by reason of her genteel birth from marrying the man she loved
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4
as in gracious
showing consideration, courtesy, and good manners
his genteel gesture of holding the door for the ladies
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of genteel
Hicks also bristled at my suggestion that this was a genteel, transparent form of public shaming — information that donors and voters could use to pressure lower-performing candidates out of the race, thus increasing the chance that at least one Democrat advances to November.
—
Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Mar. 2026
But for women of Austen’s circumstances, living genteel lives without actual land or ample income, employment would have been inappropriate, even scandalous (recall Philadelphia’s slippery slope scenario), and therefore unthinkable.
—Literary Hub, 9 Mar. 2026
And tours of the Owens-Thomas House and its slave quarters capture an ugly history in which genteel opulence and oppression existed side by side in Savannah.
—Adam Kuehl, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
The genteel dean of the Maryland delegation, who helped send billions of federal dollars to his state as an appropriator, was often a key negotiating partner for Republican leaders who maintained better relations with him than the hard-charging Pelosi.
—Benjamin Siegel, ABC News, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for genteel
Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Mar. 2026
But for women of Austen’s circumstances, living genteel lives without actual land or ample income, employment would have been inappropriate, even scandalous (recall Philadelphia’s slippery slope scenario), and therefore unthinkable.
—Literary Hub, 9 Mar. 2026
And tours of the Owens-Thomas House and its slave quarters capture an ugly history in which genteel opulence and oppression existed side by side in Savannah.
—Adam Kuehl, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
The genteel dean of the Maryland delegation, who helped send billions of federal dollars to his state as an appropriator, was often a key negotiating partner for Republican leaders who maintained better relations with him than the hard-charging Pelosi.
—Benjamin Siegel, ABC News, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for genteel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for genteel
Adjective
-
That’s not English society, that’s every society, at least every polite society.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
-
This is the true story…of two strangers… picked to work together… and have their lives taped…to find out what happens… when people stop being polite…and start getting real.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
But the specific French dispensation—the idea that a man’s erotic life exists outside the moral world of his other obligations, that the wife and the mistress are a civilized arrangement, that desire is sovereign—this mythology did not make the crossing with me, or did not survive it intact.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 May 2026
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The 2026 draft footprint stretched across Point State Park and Acrisure Stadium (still Heinz Field in the hearts of civilized people) and by the end of the weekend, the city had hosted one of the biggest football parties in human history.—
Dan Zaksheske OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
My father, a boy, sat in the back seat with his brothers and Choute—Duchess of Montmoreau, née de Troguindy, a beautiful and aristocratic woman who went by this single childhood nickname.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 May 2026
-
News articles and photos of the casual picnic enamored Americans, transforming their view of the royals as rigid and aristocratic to more down-to-earth.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
At the Gotham Bar, ask the team for Conrad, cheerful and gracious, who can suggest a martini for your mood.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Here, a gracious layout puts the two bedrooms on opposite ends of the apartment, both with room for a king, closets, and, in the case of the primary, an en suite bath.—
Katie McDonough,
Curbed,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
These aren’t just any Airstreams, but ones that have been outfitted to include amenities like a little kitchenette for your morning coffee, a small couch, and a proper shower and restroom.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 May 2026
-
Christensen disclosed his relationship with school psychology professor Bryn Harris to the university through the proper channels in late 2025, according to CU’s vice president of communications, Michele Ames.—
Elizabeth Hernandez,
Denver Post,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
The durable cultured marble top holds two ceramic undermount sinks.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
28 Apr. 2026
-
In short, for the first time Tavira will be in the sights of the cultured, high-end traveler who at last has somewhere to lay their (well coiffured) head.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The staircase leads up to the portego, an enormous salon on the noble floor decorated with 18th-century paintings by Andrea Urbani and a large set of windows overlooking the Grand Canal.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
4 May 2026
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But the latest news is a reminder that even the noblest-sounding proposals can have severe unintended consequences.—
Steven Greenhut,
Oc Register,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
At the building’s peak, five-foot-tall concrete letters spell out a hundred and three words of a speech delivered by Obama in Selma, Alabama, in 2015, on the fiftieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when John Lewis and other civil-rights activists were beaten at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge.—
Peter Slevin,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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The final settlement came after the venue for a second civil trial had been moved out of Kerr County, according to the San Antonio News-Express.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
3 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Genteel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/genteel. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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