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   genteel

   /dʒɛnˈtiːl/

   adjective

   • 1. characterized by exaggerated or affected politeness, refinement, or respectability: "her genteel upbringing"

   Word Origin late 16th century (in the sense ‘fashionable, stylish’): from French gentil ‘well-born’. From the 17th century to the 19th century the word was used in such senses as ‘of good social position’, ‘having the manners of a well-born person’, ‘well bred’. The ironic or derogatory implication dates from the 19th century.

   Derivatives

   • 1. genteelly adverb
   • 2. genteelness noun

   Scrabble Points: 8

   • G

     2

   • E

     1

   • N

     1

   • T

     1

   • E

     1

   • E

     1

   • L

     1

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