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Glite Dictionary
🌬️ Kind or mild 🐶 Easy to handle ⛰️ Not steep 👑 Noble origin 🤲 To calm 🏅 To make noble
gentle

gentle

27 1.0
Not steep and rising slowly
  • adjective
  • /ˈdʒɛntəl/
translation icon : suave
  • In the main, you will find Southern Ontario gentle farming country, sometimes in softly rolling hills.
  • a gentle slope
  • a gentle curve
  • a gentle rise

Examples

  • It's just like a gentle tap on your wrist.

  • Just a gentle step from darkness to light.

    Battle Hymn (1957)

  • And that is in like the next day too, you know, like gentle movement and things like that.

  • It's quite a gentle hit.

    Locked Down (2021)

  • The cutting is both gentle and very solid.

  • Just a nice gentle curve leading you to the house.

  • If you do nothing, it is like just a gentle breeze of air.

  • The slope still climbed away from them, but at a much more gentle angle than before.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • We entered Valley Court, which sloped down and around a gentle hill, lined with newish houses.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The hiking trail features a gentle slope, making it accessible for beginners.

Synonyms

gradual
vsgentle
75 3.0

Happening slowly and steadily, not suddenly

is specific to a moderate incline rather than general slow change

Antonyms

steep
131 2.5

Having a very sharp slope or almost vertical angle

Idioms

gentle as a lamb
  • Informal
1 3.9

A person or animal who is very kind and not likely to hurt others

Compounds

gentle breeze
  • Specialized
4 2.2

A light wind that moves leaves and cools the air

gentle giant
  • Informal
4 3.4

A very large person who is kind and calm

gentle persuasion
1 3.9

To convince someone with kind words or calm actions

falcon-gentle
  • Archaic
9.9

A female bird of prey used by people in falconry

gentle Muzak
  • US
6.7

Soft, quiet background music played in public places to make people feel relaxed

gentle sex
  • NSFW
8.1

Physical closeness between partners that is soft, careful, and focused on comfort and trust

gentle spank
  • Informal
6.8

A light slap, usually on the arm, to get attention

gentle stroke
3.1

A soft light touch to comfort a person or animal

How Steep

vertical
100 2.7
sheer
23 4.1
steep
131 2.5
gentle
27 1.0
shallow
155 1.6
level
1.0

Surface Forms

gentle positive
gentler comparative
gentlest superlative

Etymology

Gentle also came to mean 'mild' or 'not strong', so a 'gentle' slope is one that rises slowly and is not steep. This use keeps the idea of being soft and easy rather than sharp or harsh.