as in tamed
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1
as in appeased
to lessen the anger or agitation of
employees soon learned that their hot-tempered boss needed to be gentled several times a day
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in caressed
to touch or handle in a tender or loving manner
soothingly gentled his cat's head as she was being treated by the vet
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in softened
to lessen the shock of
adding a bit of sugar to the salsa will gentle the hot spiciness of the chili peppers
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gentled
Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Mar. 2026
Verb
Lisiecki gentled his way through a Brahms waltz for an encore.
—Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gentled
Verb
-
Both agencies appeased a murderer.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
18 Mar. 2026
-
There also are a lot of people who need to be appeased to put the show together, so some habits are going to die harder than others.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Electric Bleu is French food caressed with California seasonality and the occasional pop of Aussie nostalgia.—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
-
In a video shared by the Broncos from the unveiling, Smith is seen carefully caressed the statue of her son's face just after the curtain drops.—
Natasha Dye,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
This hit, however, has been softened by the fact that Robinhood has succeeded in growing other business lines, notably banking and prediction markets, allowing its overall revenue to remain steady.—
Jeff John Roberts,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
-
When the roasted oysters arrive, their usual brininess is softened by a fragrant coconut curry and sharp Asiago cheese.—
Natalie Hoy,
Southern Living,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Enough time passed and my parents calmed down.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The recent decline comes as ceasefire talks in the Iran war have calmed the bond market and pulled the 10-year Treasury yield, the main driver of mortgage rates, back down.—
Tim Maxwell,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Next to Hofferth, Adam Johnson patted a projector.—
Shelley Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Wembanyama tumbled to the court and remained down for a minute while George patted him on the backside apologetically.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In 1983, Mark Russell, whose satire was a PBS staple, offered relatively tame jabs at Reagan.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Apr. 2026
-
With the stock trading around $177, those roughly at-the-money contracts are implying a fifty-fifty chance of expiring profitable by Friday, a fairly tame way to place a bet on a stock that typically trades like a more volatile version of bitcoin.—
Oliver Renick,
CNBC,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The tap-tap-tap hammering up and down my spine and around my shoulder blades actually soothed me nearly to sleep.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Irrational fears can’t be soothed by logic.—
Calvin Kasulke,
Literary Hub,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In her first varsity at-bat the next day against Lincoln-Way Central, Krauchun stroked a single up the middle.—
Tony Baranek,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Ferrer then went back to the sinker, placed the 98 mph pitch on the outside edge of the plate and Merrill stroked it to left, clearing the bases for a walk-off win in front the remnants of a sellout crowd of 46,095.—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gentled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gentled. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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