gracious

gracious
adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French gracieus, from Latin gratiosus enjoying favor, agreeable, from gratia Date: 14th century 1. a. obsolete godly b. archaic pleasing, acceptable 2. a. marked by kindness and courtesy <
a gracious host
>
b. graceful c. marked by tact and delicacy ; urbane d. characterized by charm, good taste, generosity of spirit, and the tasteful leisure of wealth and good breeding <
gracious living
>
3. merciful, compassionate — used conventionally of royalty and high nobility • graciously adverbgraciousness noun Synonyms: gracious, cordial, affable, genial, sociable mean markedly pleasant and easy in social intercourse. gracious implies courtesy and kindly consideration <
the gracious award winner thanked her colleagues
>
. cordial stresses warmth and heartiness <
our host was cordial as he greeted us
>
. affable implies easy approachability and readiness to respond pleasantly to conversation or requests or proposals <
though wealthy, she was affable to all
>
. genial stresses cheerfulness and even joviality <
a genial companion with a ready quip
>
. sociable suggests a genuine liking for the companionship of others <
sociable people who enjoy entertaining
>
.

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • Gracious — Жанры Прогрессивный рок Годы 1964 1971, с 1995 Страна …   Википедия

  • Gracious — Gra cious (gr[=a] sh[u^]s), a. [F. gracieux, L. gratiosus. See {Grace}.] 1. Abounding in grace or mercy; manifesting love, or bestowing mercy; characterized by grace; beneficent; merciful; disposed to show kindness or favor; condescending; as,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gracious! — was a British progressive rock band. It was formed at late 1960 s and recorded first unreleased album in 1968. Vertigo relased their album Gracious! in 1970 and Philips relased album This is...Gracious!! 1971. Songs of these albums were written… …   Wikipedia

  • gracious — gracious, cordial, affable, genial, sociable are used to describe persons or their words or acts who or which are markedly pleasant and easy in social intercourse. Gracious implies kindliness and courtesy especially to inferiors. When it carries… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • gracious — c.1300, filled with God s grace, from O.Fr. gracios courteous, pleasing, kind, friendly (12c., Mod.Fr. gracieux), from L. gratiosus enjoying favor, agreeable, obliging; popular, acceptable, from gratia (see GRACE (Cf. grace)). Meaning merciful,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • gracious — [grā′shəs] adj. [ME < OFr < L gratiosus, in favor, popular, kind < gratia: see GRACE] 1. having or showing kindness, courtesy, charm, etc. 2. merciful; compassionate 3. indulgent or polite to those held to be inferiors 4. characterized… …   English World dictionary

  • gracious — index benevolent, charitable (benevolent), charitable (lenient), civil (polite), favorable (expressing approval) …   Law dictionary

  • gracious — [adj] kind, giving accommodating, affable, amiable, amicable, approachable, beneficent, benevolent, benign, benignant, big hearted, bland, bonhomous, charitable, chivalrous, civil, compassionate, complaisant, congenial, considerate, cordial,… …   New thesaurus

  • gracious — ► ADJECTIVE 1) courteous, kind, and pleasant. 2) showing the elegance and comfort associated with high social status or wealth. 3) (in Christian belief) showing divine grace. ► EXCLAMATION ▪ expressing polite surprise. DERIVATIVES graciously… …   English terms dictionary

  • gracious — gra|cious [ˈgreıʃəs] adj 1.) behaving in a polite, kind, and generous way, especially to people of a lower rank ▪ Sibyl was the most gracious, helpful, and generous person to work with. ▪ a gracious apology 2.) having the kind of expensive style …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • gracious — adj. 1) gracious to, towards (she is gracious to all) 2) gracious to + inf. (it was gracious of him to make the offer; she was gracious enough to introduce me to them) * * * [ greɪʃəs] towards (she is gracious to all) gracious to gracious to +… …   Combinatory dictionary

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