genteel

[ 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.

genteel

/ dʒɛnˈtiːl /

adjective

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

Derived Forms

• genˈteelly, adverb
• genˈteelness, noun

Other Words From

• 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of genteel¹

1590–1600; < French gentil; gentle

Word History and Origins

Origin of genteel¹

C16: from French gentil well-born; see gentle

Example Sentences

And now a Mediterranean villa on a hillside in genteel Bel-Air has become the latest target of mysterious graffiti vandals.

From Los Angeles Times

This has been played down by his admirers as a kind of genteel, country-club antisemitism somehow distinguishable from the bad kind.

From Salon

Well, the amazing thing about Lewis Powell on the Supreme Court is that Powell is sort of a classic Southern lawyer, a genteel racist.

From Salon

Derailing the training center is a longshot, but Chambers is committed to last-ditch efforts — and, in turn, to thumbing his nose at the genteel relatives from whom he is estranged.

From Seattle Times

Yet despite its genteel reputation and simple objective — touch an opponent with your blade before being touched — the sport has long been rife with drama and suspicion.

From New York Times

Related Words

• aristocratic
• elegant
• noble
• ostentatious
• polite
• refined
• stylish