Discussion on question by SovereignSun: Gently close the door - one word

Feeds

21:12

There's "slam the door" and "shut the door" for non-gentle actions applied towards a door but are there any gentle one-word actions? I tried to search for the opposite (antonym) of "slam" and "close" but that's not what I was looking for. I have no idea how i should search then.

word-request

D. Nelson

I don't think the word you're seeking exists. "Gently close the door", or "pull the door to" are the only natural-sounding ways I can think of to say what you want.

SovereignSun

Maybe some idiom exists?

D. Nelson

I can't think of anything suitable. A quick search I did couldn't find anything either, apart from the examples I mentioned and similar ones using synonyms for gently (e.g. softly).

SovereignSun

I would really like to have something similar to "slam the door" or "shut the door" but instead meaning "gently close the door"

D. Nelson

Maybe someone will be able to suggest something, but I'm not sure that any word like that exists.

Mick

21:12

Ease might be considered an antonym of slam, as in "ease the door shut".

Tᴚoɯɐuo

He closed the door. implies normal closing, neither rough nor gentle. Are you looking for a word that means "more gently than is usually necessary", as when someone is trying to close a door and not wake a baby?

SovereignSun

@TRomano Exactly. That's what i mean.

Tᴚoɯɐuo

We can say He babied the door shut. To baby something means to treat it very gently (or too gently, when used as a criticism). It would be analogous to Mick's ease the door shut, though babied is a more colorful usage. Mick's ease is natural/neutral.

SovereignSun

@TRomano I cannot find proof in dictionaries. dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/baby says "to baby" means "to treat an older child as if he or she were a much younger child"

Tᴚoɯɐuo

That is just one of the meanings, to which I referred when I wrote "or too gently, when used as a criticism".

SovereignSun

21:12

@TRomano Any official sources where I can find this information?

Tᴚoɯɐuo

I'm sure there are many. Look around for "to baby {something}".

There's even one here, "he babied the closet door open". google.com/…

SovereignSun

@TRomano Searched in 6 dictionaries (Oxford's, The Free Dictionary, Cambridge's, MacMillan's, Merriam-Webster's, Collin's) and none have the meaning of the verb "to baby" that you have written. Only the The Free Dictionary has a meaning "to handle or use with special care"

Tᴚoɯɐuo

That's their shortcoming, not mine.