Someone who is gentle is kindly or good-natured. When we describe someone as a gentle soul, for instance, we usually mean they display tenderness and temperance in dealings with others. The synonym compassionate is a little more hands-on, or at least it has a powerful urge to be. This adjective describes someone that shows deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. The sensitivity and humaneness implied by this adjective put it in sharp contrast with words such as indifferent, apathetic, and uncaring, all of which, when describing people, suggest a coldness or a lack of concern for the well-being of others.

Even outside of the "Star Wars" universe, the difference between the nouns power and force is nuanced. Each term has upward of 15 noun definitions in the dictionary. The most basic distinction is that power is something one possesses (I have the power to open that window), while force is something one exerts (I used force to open that window). But, unencumbering ourselves from the physical realm for a moment, force is especially useful for talking about energy or intensity of an immaterial sort, such as a personality of great force, or about the power to convince, as in the force of a compelling argument. It’s also used to talk about any influence or agency analogous to physical force, such as social forces or political forces. Power, in its immaterial applications, is more suggestive of control and authority.

The verb persuade is used to talk about convincing a person to do something, as by advising or urging (we could not persuade him to wait), or inducing a person to believe something by appealing to reason or understanding (to persuade the judge of the prisoner’s innocence). This verb, on its own, does not suggest deception or persistent pestering the way that the synonym cajole does. To cajole is to persuade a person by flattery or (most likely false) promises. Cajole is usually applied when the motivation is plain old self-interest—and it frequently occurs with into, as in, He didn't want to make a trip to town, but he was cajoled into it by his extremely persistent daughter.