GENTLENESS Synonyms: 202 Similar and Opposite Words

gentleness

noun

Definition of gentleness

as in kindness

the quality of having a generally kind and agreeable manner The students quickly learned that despite their new teacher's gentleness, good grades had to be earned through hard work.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of gentleness Consistent mentions of gentleness, clear communication and how the dog behaved afterward are strong positive signals. — Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 13 July 2026 Check Google, Yelp and Nextdoor reviews for patterns around gentleness and communication. — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 13 July 2026 Salinger reveals Holden’s gentleness, itself a rejection of masculine norms of strength, through a determined honesty that is antithetical to the boasting in which his male peers repeatedly engage. — Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026 Practice kindness, and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. — Jann E. Freed, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for gentleness

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gentleness

Noun

If someone consistently behaves with kindness, generosity, and consideration, even when these behaviors require effort or self-restraint, their motives may be less important than their actions.

— Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
The singer was so well known for helping out that fake stories are hard to refute, because even extraordinary acts of kindness sound like something Parton would do.

— CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of kindness

Noun

The bacon is cooked until deeply caramelized, with crisp, smoky edges surrounding a rich and tender center, then finished with local Arizona honey for a delicate touch of sweetness.

— Aly Walansky, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
And for a few minutes in Kyiv, cultures, death and geopolitics yielded to the power of sweetness and puppy love, as well as the symbolism of resilience and protection.

— Laurie Kellman, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of sweetness

Noun

The opening up to the friendship with Renata, the attentiveness with Luis, and not being set on killing Negan are monumental changes for her.

— Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Aug. 2026
Thanks to the controller’s attentiveness, a possible mid-air collision may have been prevented, especially if the pilots operating the individual planes thought the controller was giving them the same flight instructions.

— Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of attentiveness

Noun

The Jets have no impetus to rush a trade — and Jets fans are well-versed in Cheveldayoff’s stubborn patience from Jacob Trouba’s 2016 contract holdout and trades involving Evander Kane, Trouba, Patrik Laine and Pierre-Luc Dubois.

— James Mirtle, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
The flames surged like a furnace, threatening to destroy her home and testing — once again — the patience of neighbors who were used to waking up to fire truck sirens.

— Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of patience

Noun

This observation led me to develop the concept of Formidable Agility, an approach to organizational design that balances structural strength with adaptive responsiveness.

— Kumar Rupesh, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
The latency is reduced by 17 to 30 milliseconds, enhancing responsiveness and eliminating lag.

— George Yang, PC Magazine, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of responsiveness

Noun

Heading into the holidays, that tension between a willingness to spend and pressure on household budgets will likely shape consumer behavior.

— Jill Standish, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Manouzi sees her Dearborn clients as especially entrepreneurial, with a willingness to test new, innovative approaches that might boost sales, or, for a restaurant business, bring diners into a space.

— Lyndsay C. Green, Freep.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of willingness

Noun

Flit can mill ultra-precise, nested male-to-female sleeve joints required for adhesive bonding with a 1mm tolerance.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 29 Aug. 2026
As part of the aforementioned slow approach, twice a week is a good starting point for retinol usage, building up as the skin’s tolerance increases.

— Ellie Davis, Vogue, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of tolerance

Noun

Charities should seize on that and message around the benefit that leaning into generosity has for people’s wallets and their communities—one that opens the door to a teaching moment.

— Dale Bannon, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Their generosity, humanity and belief in the importance of fashion as art, culture and history – as well as their understanding of human fragility and the possibility of growth – will remain with me always.

— Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2026