different between attentive vs gentlemanly

English

Etymology

From Middle English attentif, attentijf, from Old French attentif.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??t?nt?v/

Adjective

attentive (comparative more attentive, superlative most attentive)

1. Paying attention; noticing, watching, listening, or attending closely.

   She is an attentive listener, but does not like to talk much.

   • 1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka (republished by Eland, 2019; p. 94):

     King-of-the-Sky was sitting alone in the Leeward Village meeting-house, gesticulating to the attentive shades of night, roaring out the genealogy of his ancestors, telling the sleeping world of his greatness.

2. Courteous; mindful.

   a husband attentive to his wife's needs

Synonyms

• audient
• mindful
• reckful

Antonyms

• inattentive, reckless

Translations

See also

• alert
• wary
• watchful

Anagrams

• tentative

French

Adjective

attentive

1. feminine singular of attentif

English

Etymology

From gentleman +? -ly.

Adjective

gentlemanly (comparative more gentlemanly, superlative most gentlemanly)

1. Of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a gentleman or gentlemen.
   • 2010, Catherine Rampell, “In Law Schools, Grades Go Up, Just Like That”, in The New York Times, 2010 June 22, page A1:

     Some schools bump up everyone’s grades, some just allow for more As and others all but eliminate the once-gentlemanly C.

Adverb

gentlemanly (comparative more gentlemanly, superlative most gentlemanly)

1. In the manner or with the behavior of a gentleman; with social grace, politely.

Translations

Derived terms

• gentlemanliness

See also

• ladylike