/ dʒenˈtiːl; NAmE / 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
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
► gen·teel·ly / dʒenˈtiːlli; NAmE / adverb
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WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent. (in the sense fashionable, stylish ): from French gentil well-born. From the 17th cent. to the 19th cent. the word was used in such senses as of good social position , having the manners of a well-born person , well bred . The ironic or derogatory implication dates from the 19th cent.