gently
[ˈd͡ʒɛ̃ɾ̃li]
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.08 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adv
adv
adv
adv
From a gentle or high-class family.
adv
In the manner of one of gentle birth; in a manner that reflects the traditional virtues of the gentry: courteously, nobly.
Obsolete
Example Sentences
- "First, marinate the tofu. In a bowl, whisk the kecap manis, chilli sauce, and sesame oil together. Cut the tofu into strips about 1cm thick, mix gently (so it doesn't break) with the marinade and leave in the fridge for half an hour."
- "The plane is travelling impossibly slowly – 30km an hour – when it gently noses up and leaves the ground. With air beneath them, the rangy wings seem to gain strength; the fuselage that on the ground seemed flimsy becomes elegant, like a crane vaunting in flight. It seems not to fly, though, so much as float."
- "From Blackwater there is a more or less level run through gently rolling farmlands and downs to Merstone, with its island platform and passing loop."
- "I look at the world, and I notice it's turning / While my guitar gently weeps / With every mistake, we must surely be learning / Still my guitar gently weeps"
- "gently born"
Etymology
From Middle English gentilly, gentlych, gentilliche, equivalent to gentle + -ly, with *-lely simplified to -ly by haplology.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: [ˈd͡ʒɛ̃ɾ̃li]
Usage
Inflected Forms
gentlier (comparative)
more gently (comparative)
gentliest (superlative)
most gently (superlative)
gentilly (alternative, Southern US)
gentlely (alternative, proscribed)