kid gloves

NOUN

tact and gentleness

Synonyms

WEAK

delicacy fastidiousness gentle handling gentleness good taste kid-glove treatment leniency light hand light rein refinement tact tolerance velvet glove

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

By treating actual adults—the chat participants weren’t teenagers—with kid gloves, they contribute to the cultural malady of infantilization.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025

"From now on, the kid gloves are off - it's bare-knuckle stuff."

From BBC • Jul. 8, 2025

But the idea of handling such a gleeful provocateur with kid gloves seems to somehow miss the point of De Palma’s work.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2024

Pittsburgh has used kid gloves with Jones at times, though he also threw a career-high 96 pitches over seven brilliant innings against Colorado last weekend.

From Seattle Times • May 10, 2024

He ’ad white kid gloves on ’is ’ands, and he pointed out the animiles to me and says: ‘Keeper, these wolves seem upset at something.’

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker