| 释义 |
gently
gen·tle G0088600 (jĕn′tl)adj. gen·tler, gen·tlest 1. Considerate or kindly in disposition; amiable and tender.2. Not harsh or severe; mild and soft: a gentle scolding; a gentle tapping at the window.3. Easily managed or handled; docile: a gentle horse.4. Not steep or sudden; gradual: a gentle incline.5. a. Of good family; wellborn: a child of gentle birth.b. Suited to one of good breeding; refined and polite: a gentle greeting to a stranger.6. Archaic Noble; chivalrous: a gentle knight.n. Archaic One of good birth or relatively high station.tr.v. gen·tled, gen·tling, gen·tles 1. To make less severe or intense: The peaceful sunset gentled her dreadful mood.2. To soothe, as by stroking; pacify.3. To tame or break (a horse).4. Obsolete To raise to the status of a noble.
[Middle English gentil, courteous, noble, from Old French, from Latin gentīlis, of the same clan, from gēns, gent-, clan; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]
gen′tle·ness n.gen′tly adv.gently politely">politely1. 'gently'If you do something gently, you do it carefully and without using force, in order to avoid hurting someone or damaging something. I shook her gently and she opened her eyes.2. 'politely'Don't use 'gently' to say that someone shows good manners. Use politely. He thanked me politely.Thesaurus| Adv. | 1. | gently - in a gradual manner; "a gently sloping terrain" | | 2. |  gently - in a gentle manner; "he talked gently to the injured animal"mildly | | 3. | gently - with little weight or force; "she kissed him lightly on the forehead"lightly, softly |
Translationsgentle (ˈdʒentl) adjective1. (of people) behaving, talking etc in a mild, kindly, pleasant way. a gentle old lady; The doctor was very gentle. 和善的 和善的2. not strong or rough. a gentle breeze. 和緩的 轻柔的，柔和的 3. (of hills) rising gradually. a gentle slope. 坡度平緩的 和缓的，徐缓的 ˈgently adverb 和善地 文雅地ˈgentleness noun 和善 和善gently
let (one) down gentlyTo deliver bad news to someone in the kindest or least upsetting way possible. When you tell Ed that somebody already asked you to the dance, please let him down gently. I tried to let Susan down gently, but she burst into tears nonetheless.See also: down, gently, letlet someone down gently seek to give someone bad news in a way that avoids causing them too much distress or humiliation.See also: down, gently, let, someoneˌeasy/ˌgently/ˌslowly ˈdoes it (informal) used for telling somebody to be careful, calm, etc: Easy does it! Just lift it a little bit and I think it’ll go through the door.See also: does, easy, gently, slowlybreak it (to someone) gently, toTo reveal bad news in a calm, soothing fashion. “With a design to break the matter gently to his partners,” wrote John Arbuthnot in 1712. In time the verb to break in the sense of “to tell” incorporated the idea of “gently,” making the cliché a tautology.See also: breakEncyclopediaSeegentlegently
Synonyms for gentlyadv in a gentle mannerSynonymsadv with little weight or forceSynonyms |