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View synonyms for gentility

gentility

[ jen-til-i-tee ]

noun

  1. good breeding or refinement.

    Synonyms: propriety, decorum, grace, polish

  2. affected or pretentious politeness or elegance.
  3. the status of belonging to polite society.
  4. members of polite society collectively.


gentility

/ dʒɛnˈtɪlɪtɪ /

noun

  1. respectability and polite good breeding
  2. affected politeness
  3. noble birth or ancestry
  4. people of noble birth
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Other Words From

  • ungen·tili·ty noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of gentility1

1300–50; Middle English < Old French gentilite < Latin gentīlitāt- (stem of gentīlitās ), equivalent to gentīl ( is ) ( gentle ) + -itāt- -ity
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Word History and Origins

Origin of gentility1

C14: from Old French gentilite, from Latin gentīlitās relationship of those belonging to the same tribe or family; see gens
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Example Sentences

Packaging these rebuffs with gentility and kindness may or may not succeed.

Today: Germans on socialism, Russians on gentility, and gay men on the British royals.

As well twenty times—keep it for yourself, or give it to my valet, if you are too proud of your gentility.

I knew that the gentility of the knock had taken both her and her mother aback.

In the mean time it was necessary to sacrifice something to gentility, and therefore they sat over their port wine.

Descending in the scale of what is termed gentility, I found darker and deeper themes for speculation.

He is the idol of equivocal women, and condescends to patronize unpresentable gentility-mongers.

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gentilismgentisate