Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
gracious smile
English answer:
1 kind _; 2 tactful _; 3 merciful, compassionate _; 4 condesencing _; 5 graceful _; 6 elegant -
English term
gracious smile
Jul 10, 2007 22:02: Michael Powers (PhD) changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/141091">literary's</a> old entry - "gracious smile"" to ""1 kind _; 2 tactful _; 3 merciful, compassionate _; 4 condesencing _; 5 graceful _; 6 elegant -""
Responses
United States
US Court Cert. 1980 Ph.D. 1981
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
1 kind _; 2 tactful _; 3 merciful, compassionate _; 4 condesencing _; 5 graceful _; 6 elegant -
gra·cious (grā'shəs)
adj.
Characterized by kindness and warm courtesy.
Characterized by tact and propriety: responded to the insult with gracious humor.
Of a merciful or compassionate nature.
Condescendingly courteous; indulgent.
Characterized by charm or beauty; graceful.
Characterized by elegance and good taste: gracious living.
Archaic. Enjoying favor or grace; acceptable or pleasing.
Mike :)
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Note added at 5 mins (2007-07-09 12:14:00 GMT)
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Because of limitations of space, "-" is written for "smile"
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NancyLynn
47 mins
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Thank you, NancyLynn - Mike :)
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| agree |
Marie Scarano
: very often if a smile is "gracious" it is condescending.
1 hr
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Thank you, mariesca - Mike :)
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ruthiep
: in this context I'd go for 'graceful' or 'elegant'
2 hrs
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Thank you, ruthiep - Mike :)
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Elena Aleksandrova
6 hrs
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Thank you, Elena - Mike :)
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Interp, trans, proof, PR, research, writ
Native in: Russian 
, German
Works in: English to Russian, German to Russian, Russian to German, and 13 more.
formal, pоlite smile
| agree |
Cervin
: If she has stolen the mail I think 'polite' would give the right tone. It really depends on the overall context
17 mins
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thank you
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Native in: Hungarian
Works in: English to Hungarian, Spanish to English, Hungarian to English, and 4 more.
kind and warm smile
United States
Command several languages simultaneously
Native in: Urdu , Arabic
Works in: Arabic to English, English to Arabic, English to Urdu, and 7 more.
Used to express surprise or mild emotion
pleasant, kind, benevolent, courteous, characterized by good taste, comfort, ease, indulgent or beneficent in a pleasantly condescending way, esp. to inferiors, merciful or compassionate, used as an exclamation of surprise, relief, dismay, benign, friendly, favorable, polite, tender, clement, mild, gentle, exhibiting courtesy and politeness; "a nice gesture” disposed to bestow favors etc.
| But then it is an exclamation: Gracious! |
Discussion