gracious
Kind, polite and pleasant to others.
gracious in a sentence
- Though she lost the final, the gracious skater smiled and congratulated the winner warmly.
- Our gracious host thanked every guest by name and made sure nobody left the party hungry.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to gracious?
- Amean
- Brude
- Cpolite
- Dnasty
Show the answer
C: polite. The other three mean the opposite of gracious.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to gracious?
- Akind
- Brude
- Ccharming
- Dpolite
Show the answer
B: rude. The other three mean nearly the same as gracious.
Words that mean something similar
polite, kind, charming
Words that mean the opposite
rude, mean, nasty
More words about behaviour & manners
- grovel: To crawl or beg in an overly humble way to please someone.
- haphazard: Done in a messy way with no plan at all.
- hoard: To collect lots of things and hide them away.
- hoax: A trick that makes people believe something that is not true.
- hostile: Very unfriendly and ready to argue or fight.
- hygienic: Clean and free from germs that could spread illness.
- idle: Not busy or not in use, or not wanting to work.
- imitate: To copy the way someone speaks or acts.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test