genteel

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This wasn’t “an argument between genteel parties in Congress,” William Hogeland writes in his history, The Whiskey Rebellion, “but…a guerrilla war on the country’s ragged margin, our first war for the American soul.”

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

This is simply Sheridan’s pitch for escaping New York, but in a genteel manner.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026

The winner Talarico, who has a Master of Divinity degree from a Christian seminary, offered a more genteel approach.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

“Home music-making was at the core of Victorian domesticity, and a woman—wife, mother, daughter—considered the ‘angel in the home,’ would have been sitting at the genteel parlor piano playing this tune,” says Fink.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 1, 2026

Mrs. Lapham was a great manager, but she cared nothing for genteel manners and was the first to laugh at Dorcas’s ‘If it please you, Mother—-just a touch more maple syrup for me.’

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes