gracefully
in a smooth, elegant way
In a smooth and beautiful way, without sharp or clumsy movement.
[someone/something] [verb] gracefully
- The ballerina spun gracefully across the stage.
- The cat leaped gracefully onto the windowsill.
- The skater glided gracefully over the ice.
- The old tree’s branches curved gracefully over the river.
- Swans floated gracefully on the still lake.
- The dancer moves gracefully on the floor.
- The bird flies gracefully through the sky.
- She walks gracefully in high heels.
- The boat moves gracefully across the water.
- The line of the road goes gracefully up the hill.
politely and calmly in difficulty
In a kind and calm way, without anger or bad feeling, especially when something is not what you want.
[someone] [accepts/takes/handles] [something] gracefully
- She accepted the criticism gracefully and promised to improve.
- Although he lost the match, he shook his opponent’s hand gracefully.
- The company did not win the contract, but the CEO responded gracefully.
- He admitted his error gracefully, without making excuses.
- The politician stepped down gracefully after the scandal.
- She loses gracefully and smiles at the winner.
- He takes bad news gracefully and stays calm.
- They accept the decision gracefully, even if they do not like it.
- My boss takes feedback gracefully and says thank you.
- He hears the criticism and answers gracefully, not angrily.
in a controlled, non-breaking way
In a careful way that does not break or stop suddenly when there is a problem or change.
[system/process] [handles/fails/shuts down] gracefully
- The application handles network interruptions gracefully by saving your work automatically.
- If the service fails, it should fail gracefully instead of crashing the whole system.
- The program shuts down gracefully after showing a clear error message.
- Good web servers degrade gracefully when traffic is too high.
- The robot recovers gracefully from minor sensor errors.
- The website fails gracefully and shows a simple error page.
- This app handles small errors gracefully and does not crash.
- The system shuts down gracefully when the battery is low.
- Our program should fail gracefully, not stop suddenly.
- The game closes gracefully and saves your data.
- Base: gracefully
- Plural: gracefullies
accept defeat gracefully
1respond politely to losing
To lose a game, contest, or argument and stay polite and calm, without anger or bad behavior.
- Even though their team lost, the fans accepted defeat gracefully.
- Teaching children to accept defeat gracefully is an important life lesson.
- He did not accept defeat gracefully and shouted at the referee.
bow out gracefully
1leave a role politely and calmly
To leave a job, project, or situation in a polite and respectful way, without drama or anger.
- After twenty years at the company, she decided to bow out gracefully.
- Rather than fight the decision, he bowed out gracefully from the leadership race.
- They bowed out gracefully, thanking everyone for their support.
lose gracefully
1be defeated but act politely
To be defeated in a game or contest and act calm and polite, without complaining or being rude.
- Good players know how to win and lose gracefully.
- He never learned to lose gracefully and always blamed others.
- The team lost gracefully, congratulating their opponents on a good game.
age gracefully
1get older but stay attractive
To get older in a natural way, while still looking good and acting calm and confident.
- She has aged gracefully, still looking vibrant and confident.
- She has chosen to age gracefully, without trying to hide every wrinkle.
- They hope to age gracefully without worrying too much about wrinkles.
- Many people admire actors who age gracefully and do not pretend to be young.
- He is aging gracefully, staying healthy and positive in his seventies.