gentility

/ˌd͡ʒɛnˈtɪl.ə.ti/

//ˌd͡ʒɛnˈtɪl.ə.ti// noun

"gentility" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gentility” is uncommon English (frequency #93,731 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#93,731
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state of being elegant, genteel, having good breeding, or being socially superior.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gentility · gentility · English

gentility · rank #93,731 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #93,731
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gendering

Nearest frequency peer: gendering (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “gentility”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “gentility” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for gentility
PropertyValue
Headwordgentility
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌd͡ʒɛnˈtɪl.ə.ti/
Letters9
Frequency rank#93,731
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “gentility” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).gentilityfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “gendering” (#93,730), “gett” (#93,735), “Ghislaine” (#93,737). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gentility” is #93,731. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

gentility is uncommon English at frequency #93,731 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌd͡ʒɛnˈtɪl.ə.ti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for gentility, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French gentilité. The correct English form is gentility, spelled G-E-N-T-I-L-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being elegant, genteel, having good breeding, or being socially superior.
  2. 2
    The upper classes, the gentry.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how gentility appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 1967-1969, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure He is the violence and fear of the boy of my stories, yet the gentility and sensitivity of poetry.
  2. A powerful visitors’ bureau has pushed the South Carolina city to the top of “best” lists by selling gentility. Critics say that has come at the expense of history and the city’s Black population.

Etymology

From Old French gentilité.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "gentility"?
"gentility" is spelled G-E-N-T-I-L-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌd͡ʒɛnˈtɪl.ə.ti/.
What does "gentility" mean?
As a noun, "gentility" means: The state of being elegant, genteel, having good breeding, or being socially superior.
How do you pronounce "gentility"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gentility" is /ˌd͡ʒɛnˈtɪl.ə.ti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "gentility"?
From Old French gentilité. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "gentility", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list