Literary notes about gently (AI summary)
Literature employs “gently” to convey a sense of softness and refined subtlety in both physical actions and emotional tones. It often describes tender gestures, as when a character pats someone on the head in a compassionate manner [1] or lifts another with care [2]. The word also enriches natural descriptions, softening even the movement of a door opening [3] or the flow of a landscape [4], while in dialogue it signals a measured or conciliatory tone, as seen when a speaker communicates quietly yet firmly [5] or offers relief during distress [6]. Through such varied uses—from the delicate touch in affectionate encounters [7] to the serene cadence of nature—the adverb imbues scenes with an understated elegance that heightens the overall mood and character interactions [8].
- He gently patted me on the head, and I sat down.
— from Bleak House by Charles Dickens - I lifted her up and gently laid her on the bed.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - The door opened gently and slowly, and there suddenly appeared a figure—yesterday’s visitor from underground .
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Below was a little valley and beyond a long, gently-rising slope with snug farmsteads scattered along it.
— from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery - “I see, I see,” said Evgenie, smiling gently.
— from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - “Come on,” he said gently, “you're all right.”
— from Sister Carrie: A Novel by Theodore Dreiser - “Papa!” said Eva, gently, laying her hand on his.
— from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - He took her hand and said gently: "Don't let us think of such things in this short half-hour, Maggie.
— from The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
