Why Does Genteel Mean?

belonging or suited to polite society. well-bred or refined; polite; elegant; stylish. affectedly or pretentiously polite, delicate, etc.

Is genteel a positive word?

Genteel has latterly tended to express a somewhat fastidious pride of refinement, family position, and the like. Genteel is often largely negative, meaning free from what is low, vulgar, or connected with the uncultivated classes; polite is positive and active, meaning that one acts in a certain way.

Whats the meaning of genteel?

1a : having an aristocratic quality or flavor : stylish. b : of or relating to the gentry or upper class a person of genteel upbringing. c : elegant or graceful in manner, appearance, or shape the genteel manners of an old southern gentleman. d : free from vulgarity or rudeness : polite.