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Get Fancy With Genteel
The word genteel has some familiar English relatives, including gentle, gentrify, and gentility. All come from the Latin noun gens, used to refer to a group of related people. That word's plural, gentes, was used in Roman times to classify the people of the world, particularly non-Romans. Similarly, the English gentile refers to people who are not Jewish, or who don’t follow other specific religions. Many non-English words come from gens as well, including the Spanish gente, meaning “people.” To say gens has made its mark would be putting it gently.
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Examples of genteel in a Sentence
David Denby, Vulture, 3 July 2024
The rude new businessman—acting a lot like the characters who strutted around the ring, garnering the rabid love of the crowd—upset a genteel arrangement and won big.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024
For drivers who preferred their power in a more genteel package, the V-12 S600 delivered almost identical outputs — 362 hp in original form, 493 after gaining twin turbos in ’03.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 8 Oct. 2024
And now a Mediterranean villa on a hillside in genteel Bel-Air has become the latest target of mysterious graffiti vandals.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near genteel
Cite this Entry
“Genteel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genteel. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
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genteel
adjective
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