# "Gracious" vs. "Graceful" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 10, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gracious-vs-graceful/595829 "2011-09-10T15:48:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gracious-vs-graceful/595829/1 "2011-09-10T15:48:45Z")
More and more, I’m hearing people use the word “graceful” when they mean “gracious.” As in: “She congratulated her opponent on his victory, showing how graceful she can be.” Have enough people made this mistake to legitimate it as an alternate definition? ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gracious-vs-graceful/595829/2 "2011-09-10T22:02:23Z")
For me personally, I absolutely know I can be gracious, but I fall down too much to ever be considered graceful. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gracious-vs-graceful/595829/3 "2011-09-10T23:14:42Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > More and more, I’m hearing people use the word “graceful” when they mean “gracious.” As in: > > “She congratulated her opponent on his victory, showing how graceful she can be.” > > Have enough people made this mistake to legitimate it as an alternate definition? “Graceful” isn’t really wrong to start with, though. “Graceful” means more than just what a ballerina is. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gracious-vs-graceful/595829/4 "2011-09-11T01:39:38Z")
I’ve always used graceful to indicate physical motions, and gracious to indicate demeanor. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gracious-vs-graceful/595829/5 "2011-09-11T01:41:37Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > I’ve always used graceful to indicate physical motions, and gracious to indicate demeanor. This is the same for me. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gracious-vs-graceful/595829/6 "2011-09-11T02:12:15Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Have enough people made this mistake to legitimate it as an alternate definition? It’s probably in the same realm as the mistake sometimes made between “legitimate” and “legitimise”…😃 ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gracious-vs-graceful/595829/7 "2011-09-11T02:28:01Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > I’ve always used graceful to indicate physical motions, and gracious to indicate demeanor. I’ve always regarded graceful as meaning elegance or smoothness of style, physical or otherwise; “he gave in gracefully”, for example. Being gracious is being nice or polite. You can gracefully slice someone’s head off, but you can’t graciously do so. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gracious-vs-graceful/595829/8 "2011-09-11T03:32:13Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > You can gracefully slice someone’s head off, but you can’t graciously do so. 😃 Unless they’ve asked for it; then you can graciously oblige. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gracious-vs-graceful/595829/9 "2011-09-11T04:45:14Z")
“Gracious” refers to one’s behaviour with regard other people; “graceful” refers to one’s behaviour with regard one’s self. You can certaily be a gracious klutz or a graceful asshole.