kick upstairs vs gentle

kick upstairs is not an adjective while gentle is an adjective.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
kick upstairs	No	No	Yes	No
gentle	No	Yes	Yes	No

As verbs, gentle is a hyponym of kick upstairs; that is, gentle is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than kick upstairs:

Other hyponyms of kick upstairs include tenure, bring up, spot promote, ennoble, entitle, favor, favour, prefer, brevet.

kick upstairs (adjective)	gentle (adjective)
	marked by moderate steepness
	having little impact
	soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
	belonging to or characteristic of the nobility or aristocracy
	quiet and soothing
	easily handled or managed
	having or showing a kindly or tender nature

kick upstairs (verb)	gentle (verb)
give a promotion to or assign to a higher position	stroke soothingly
	cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
	give a title to someone; make someone a member of the nobility