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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
Maya Singer, Vogue, 1 July 2024
Miller’s Nina Fawcett is an early-20th-century woman with a genteel steeliness, a woman who loves her husband with an almost mystical selflessness.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 28 June 2024
Winiarski’s intellectual thirst and genteel nature were the stuff of legend, as was his commitment to the protection of Napa Valley from encroaching suburban sprawl.
—David Rosoff, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2024
The front of the balcony area in the auditorium has been adorned with small portraits and designs in a genteel Victorian style.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 22 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for genteel 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'genteel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near genteel
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“Genteel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genteel. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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genteel
adjective
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