Word · CEFR A2 · Frequency #2778
gentle
使平静；安抚；使温和
to soothe, calm, or make gentle
- 1.
To become gentle.
变得温和
- 2.
cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
使更受欢迎；赢得好感
- 3.
To break; to tame; to domesticate.
驯服；驯化
- 4.
give a title to someone; make someone a member of the nobility
授予某人头衔；使某人成为贵族成员
- 5.
To soothe; to calm; to make gentle.
安抚；使平静；使温和
- 6.
stroke soothingly
轻抚
驯服；驯养；制服；轻轻抚摸；抚慰；变温和；变得温和；缓和；争取…的好感；安抚；使…不再敌视；封…为贵族；授予…爵位
In use
She gentled the frightened cat until it stopped trembling.
The diplomat's calm words gentled the tension in the room.
The queen gentled the brave knight for his valor in battle.
Verb forms
base gentle · third person gentles · -ing gentling · past gentled · past participle gentled
当gentle作动词时，表示“使温和；安抚”，是规则动词。
Connections
Collocations
- gentle a horse
- 驯服一匹马；使马变得温顺
- The cowboy spent months gentling the wild mustang.牛仔花了几个月时间驯服那匹野马。
- gentle a wild animal
- 安抚（或驯服）野生动物
- The vet gentled the injured deer before treating it.兽医在治疗前安抚那只受伤的鹿。
- gentle someone's fears
- 安抚某人的恐惧
- Her calm voice gentled his fears about the job interview.她平静的声音安抚了他对求职面试的恐惧。
- gentle a child
- 哄孩子安静下来；安抚孩子
- The nurse gentled the frightened child to sleep.护士安抚那个受惊的孩子入睡。
Pop culture & quotes
- You don't break a horse, you gentle it.
- 你不该去驯服一匹马，而要让它平静下来。In the movie The Horse Whisperer, the trainer gentles a horse by first earning its trust.
Learner notes
Memory Tip
想象轻轻抚摸小动物让它安静下来——动词gentle就是“使温和、安抚”。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：animal training、literary writing 动词 gentle 在日常口语中较少用，多出现在较正式或书面语中。表示“安抚、使平静”时比较常见于文学描写；表示“驯服、调教（马等动物）”时多见于驯养或马术等专业领域。普通场景中更常用 calm down、soothe、tame 等词。
Grammar Note
常用于及物结构
Pronunciation & Spelling
Words with /ˈɛntəl/ (mental, rental, dental, accidental) rhyme with gentle /ˈdʒɛntəl/. Beware of lookalikes: gentile /ˈdʒɛntaɪl/ and genteel /dʒɛnˈtiːl/ look similar in spelling but do not rhyme.
High-value vocabulary
该词属于 Oxford 核心词汇，值得优先掌握常见搭配和句型。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 3，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.