Gracious

• POS: Interjection, Adjective
• HYPHEN: gra=cious

CIDE DICTIONARY

Gracious, a. [F. gracieux, L. gratiosus. See Grace.].

•  Abounding in grace or mercy; manifesting love, or bestowing mercy; characterized by grace; beneficent; merciful; disposed to show kindness or favor; condescending; as, his most gracious majesty.  [1913 Webster]

  "A god ready to pardon, gracious and merciful."  [1913 Webster]

  "So hallowed and so gracious in the time."  [1913 Webster]
•  Abounding in beauty, loveliness, or amiability; graceful; excellent.  [1913 Webster]

  "Since the birth of Cain, the first male child, . . .
  There was not such a gracious creature born."  [1913 Webster]
•  Produced by divine grace; influenced or controlled by the divine influence; as, gracious affections.

Syn. -- Favorable; kind; benevolent; friendly; beneficent; benignant; merciful.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Gracious, adj. & int.
--adj.
1 kind; indulgent and beneficent to inferiors.
2 (of God) merciful, benign.
3 poet. kindly, courteous.
4 a polite epithet used of royal persons or their acts (the gracious speech from the throne).
--int. expressing surprise.

Idiom

gracious living an elegant way of life.

Derivative

graciosity n. graciously adv. graciousness n.

Etymology

ME f. OF f. L gratiosus (as GRACE)

THESAURUS

Gracious

Bohemian, Christian, Christlike, Christly, accommodating, affable, affectionate, agreeable, amiable, amicable, approachable, attentive, beneficent, benevolent, benign, benignant, bighearted, blissful, bonhomous, bounteous, bountiful, brotherly, casual, cheerful, chivalrous, civil, civilized, clubby, compassionate, compatible, complaisant, compliant, congenial, considerate, cordial, courteous, courtly, cultivated, cultured, dainty, decent, deferential, degage, delicate, desirable, discriminating, easygoing, elegant, en rapport, enjoyable, fair, fair and pleasant, familiar, fastidious, felicific, felicitous, fine, folksy, forthcoming, fraternal, free, free and easy, freehanded, freehearted, friendly, gallant, generous, genial, giving, good, good-natured, goodly, graceful, gracile, grateful, gratifying, greathearted, handsome, harmonious, haymish, heart-warming, hearty, homely, homey, honeyed, hospitable, human, humane, indulgent, informal, irregular, kind, kindhearted, kindly, kindly-disposed, large, largehearted, lavish, liberal, likable, loose, loving, magnanimous, mannered, mellifluous, mellow, munificent, natural, neighborly, nice, obliging, offhand, offhanded, oh, open, openhanded, openhearted, outgoing, overindulgent, overpermissive, permissive, plain, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, pleasure-giving, pleasureful, polished, polite, princely, profuse, receptive, refined, relaxed, respectful, rewarding, satisfying, simple, sociable, softhearted, solicitous, sophisticated, starchy, stately, stintless, subtle, sweet, sympathetic, sympathizing, tactful, tender, tenderhearted, thoughtful, unaffected, unassuming, unceremonious, unconstrained, unconventional, ungrudging, unofficial, unselfish, unsparing, unstinted, unstinting, unstudied, urbane, warm, warm-hearted, warmhearted, welcome, welcoming, well-mannered

ROGET THESAURUS

Gracious

Willingness

N willingness, voluntariness, willing mind, heart, disposition, inclination, leaning, animus, frame of mind, humor, mood, vein, bent, penchant, aptitude, docility, docibleness, persuasibleness, persuasibility, pliability, geniality, cordiality, goodwill, alacrity, readiness, earnestness, forwardness, eagerness, asset, compliance, pleasure, gratuitous service, labor of love, volunteer, volunteering, willing, minded, fain, disposed, inclined, favorable, favorably- minded, favorably inclined, favorably disposed, nothing loth, in the vein, in the mood, in the humor, in the mind, ready, forward, earnest, eager, bent upon, predisposed, propense, docile, persuadable, persuasible, suasible, easily persuaded, facile, easy-going, tractable, genial, gracious, cordial, cheering, hearty, content, voluntary, gratuitous, spontaneous, unasked &c (ask), unforced, willingly, fain, freely, as lief, heart and soul, with pleasure, with all one's heart, with open arms, with good will, with right will, de bonne volonte, ex animo, con amore, heart in hand, nothing loth, without reluctance, of one's own accord, graciously, with a good grace, a la bonne heure, by all means, by all manner of means, to one's heart's content, yes.

Courtesy

N courtesy, respect, good manners, good behavior, good breeding, manners, politeness, bienseance, urbanity, comity, gentility, breeding, polish, presence, civility, civilization, amenity, suavity, good temper, good humor, amiability, easy temper, complacency, soft tongue, mansuetude, condescension, affability, complaisance, pr_evenance, amability, gallantry, pink of politeness, pink of courtesy, compliment, fair words, soft words, sweet words, honeyed phrases, ceremonial salutation, reception, presentation, introduction, accueil, greeting, recognition, welcome, abord, respects, devoir, regards, remembrances, kind regards, kind remembrances, love, best love, duty, empty encomium, flattering remark, hollow commendation, salaams, obeisance, bow, courtesy, curtsy, scrape, salaam, kotow, kowtow, bowing and scraping, kneeling, genuflection, obsequiousness, capping, shaking hands grip of the hand, embrace, hug, squeeze, accolade, loving cup, vin d'honneur, pledge, love token, kiss, buss, salute, mark of recognition, nod, nods and becks and wreathed smiles, valediction, condolence, courteous, polite, civil, mannerly, urbane, well-behaved, well- mannered, well-bred, well-brought up, good-mannered, polished, civilized, cultivated, refined, gentlemanlike, gallant, on one's good behavior, fine spoken, fair spoken, soft-spoken, honey-mouthed, honey- tongued, oily, bland, obliging, conciliatory, complaisant, complacent, obsequious, ingratiating, winning, gentle, mild, good-humored, cordial, gracious, affable, familiar, neighborly, diplomatic, tactful, politic, artful, courteously, with a good grace, with open arms, with outstretched arms, a bras ouverts, suaviter in modo, in good humor, Int, hail!, welcome!, well met!, ave!, all hail!, good day, good morrow!, Godspeed!, pax vobiscum!, may your shadow never be less!, Tien de plus estimable que la ceremonie, the very pink of courtesy.

Benevolence

N benevolence, Christian charity, God's love, God's grace, good will, philanthropy, unselfishness, good nature, good feeling, good wishes, kindness, kindliness, loving-kindness, benignity, brotherly love, charity, humanity, fellow-feeling, sympathy, goodness of heart, warmth of heart, bonhomie, kind-heartedness, amiability, milk of human kindness, tenderness, love, friendship, toleration, consideration, generosity, mercy, charitableness, bounty, almsgiving, good works, beneficence, the luxury of doing good, acts of kindness, a good turn, good offices, kind offices good treatment, kind treatment, good Samaritan, sympathizer, bon enfant, altruist, benevolent, kind, kindly, well-meaning, amiable, obliging, accommodating, indulgent, gracious, complacent, good-humored, warm-hearted, kind-hearted, tender-hearted, large-hearted, broad- hearted, merciful, charitable, beneficent, humane, benignant, bounteous, bountiful, good-natured, well-natured, spleenless, sympathizing, sympathetic, complaisant, well-meant, well-intentioned, fatherly, motherly, brotherly, sisterly, paternal, maternal, fraternal, sororal, friendly, with a good intention, with the best intentions, Int, Godspeed!, much good may it do!, act a charity sometimes, a tender heart, a will inflexible, de mortuis nil nisi bonum, say only good things about the dead, don't speak ill of the dead, kind words are more than coronets, quando amigo pide no hay manana, the social smile, the sympathetic tear.