adjective (sometimes disapproving)
1 (of people and their way of life) quiet and polite, often in an exaggerated way; from, or pretending to be from, a high social class:
a genteel manner / upbringing * Her genteel accent irritated me. * He lived in genteel poverty (= trying to keep the style of a high social class, but with little money).
2 (of places) quiet and old-fashioned and perhaps slightly boring
genteelly adverb
