Meanings
gentlemanly1
comparative gentlemanlier · superlative gentlemanliest
- Of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a gentleman or gentlemen.
Some schools bump up everyone’s grades, some just allow for more As and others all but eliminate the once-gentlemanly C.
2010 June 22, Catherine Rampell, “In Law Schools, Grades Go Up, Just Like That”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 24 Feb 2018, page A13 more examples
Best of all, he ought to imagine his fellow-gamblers and the rest of the mob which stands trembling over a coin to be equally rich and gentlemanly with himself, and playing solely for recreation and pleasure.
1867, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, chapter II, in The Gambler, translated by C. J. Hogarth^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Gambler_(1867)/II)With an election to cover and the soccer season in full swing, the sudoku newspaper rivalry stayed relatively gentlemanly until this month, when some of the last sudoku holdouts, including The Independent and The Guardian, joined the fray.
2005 May 23, Eric Pfanner, “Puzzling phenomenon sweeps British papers”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 28 Oct 2021The stationmaster was an important part of the local community. Anyon Kay, in his reminiscences of Horwich in the early 20th century, remembers a Mr Horsfield as stationmaster - "a gentlemanly character who took his job very seriously".
2023 March 8, Paul Salveson, “Fond farewells to two final trains...”, in RAIL, number 978, page 54Synonyms: gentlemanlike
gentlemanly2
comparative more gentlemanly · superlative most gentlemanly
- In the manner or with the behavior of a gentleman; with social grace, politely.
He went gentlemanly dressed in East Virginia style, wore a high-top silk hat, as had lawyer Park, and sported a gold headed walking cane.
1938, Charles A. Johnson, A Narrative History of Wise County, Virginia, page 165Synonyms: gentlemanlikely, gentlemanlily
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveOf, being, pertaining to, or resembling a gentleman or gentlemen.
adverbIn the manner or with the behavior of a gentleman; with social grace, politely.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivebefitting a man of good breeding
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
gentlemanly · adjective
- Middle Englishgentilmanly
- Englishgentlemanly
From Middle English gentilmanly; equivalent to gentleman + -ly (adjectival suffix).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →gentlemanly · adverb
- Middle Englishgentilmanly
- Englishgentlemanly
From Middle English gentilmanly; equivalent to gentleman + -ly (adverbial suffix).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish herrasmiesmäisesti
- herrasmiesmäisestiin the manner of a gentleman
French gentlemanesque
- gentlemanesquegentlemanlike
German vornehm
- vornehmin the manner of a gentleman
Italian signorile
- signorilein the manner of a gentleman
Polish dżentelmeński, szarmancki
- dżentelmeńskigentlemanlike
- szarmanckigentlemanlike
- dżentelmeńskoin the manner of a gentleman
- szarmanckoin the manner of a gentleman
Russian джентльме́нский
- джентльме́нский (džentlʹménskij)in the manner of a gentleman
Spanish caballerescamente, caballerosamente
- caballerescamentein the manner of a gentleman
- caballerosamentein the manner of a gentleman
- galantementein the manner of a gentleman
- gentilmentein the manner of a gentleman
Cite this entry
gentlemanly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gentlemanly
“gentlemanly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gentlemanly. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gentlemanly,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gentlemanly.
Source: gentlemanly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.