gen|teel «jehn TEEL», adjective.
1. belonging or suited to polite society: »
Do now send a genteel conveyance for them, for…they were most of them used to ride in their own carriages (Richard Brinsley Sheridan).
2. polite; well-bred; fashionable; elegant: »
the genteelest dinner I have ever seen (Samuel Pepys).
SYNONYM(S): refined.3. trying to be aristocratic; artificially polite and courteous: »
Her mannerisms were painfully genteel.
╂[< French gentil < Latin gentīlis. See etym. of doublets gentile (Cf. ↑gentile), gentle (Cf. ↑gentle), jaunty. (Cf. ↑jaunty)]
–gen|teel´ly, adverb.
–gen|teel´ness, noun.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.