beautiful
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beau·ti·ful
(byo͞o′tə-fəl)adj.
1. Having qualities that delight or appeal to the senses and often the mind.
2. Excellent; wonderful: hit a beautiful shot from the tee.
interj.
Used to express approval or delight.
beau′ti·ful·ly adv.
beau′ti·ful·ness n.
Synonyms: beautiful, lovely, pretty, handsome, comely, fair1
All these adjectives apply to what excites aesthetic admiration. Beautiful is most comprehensive and applies to mental appreciation as well as sensual delight: a beautiful child; a beautiful painting; a beautiful mathematical proof. Lovely also has wide application but stresses sensual enjoyment or emotional response over critical faculties: a lovely fragrance; the lovely feel of silk; greeted us with a lovely smile. What is pretty is beautiful in a delicate or graceful way: a pretty face; a pretty song; a pretty dress. Handsome stresses poise and dignity of form and proportion: a handsome, oak-paneled library."She is very pretty, but not so extraordinarily handsome" (William Makepeace Thackeray).
Comely suggests wholesome physical attractiveness: "Mrs. Hurd is a large woman with a big, comely, simple face" (Ernest Hemingway).
Fair emphasizes freshness or purity: "In the highlands, in the country places, / Where the old plain men have rosy faces, / And the young fair maidens / Quiet eyes" (Robert Louis Stevenson).
All these adjectives apply to what excites aesthetic admiration. Beautiful is most comprehensive and applies to mental appreciation as well as sensual delight: a beautiful child; a beautiful painting; a beautiful mathematical proof. Lovely also has wide application but stresses sensual enjoyment or emotional response over critical faculties: a lovely fragrance; the lovely feel of silk; greeted us with a lovely smile. What is pretty is beautiful in a delicate or graceful way: a pretty face; a pretty song; a pretty dress. Handsome stresses poise and dignity of form and proportion: a handsome, oak-paneled library."She is very pretty, but not so extraordinarily handsome" (William Makepeace Thackeray).
Comely suggests wholesome physical attractiveness: "Mrs. Hurd is a large woman with a big, comely, simple face" (Ernest Hemingway).
Fair emphasizes freshness or purity: "In the highlands, in the country places, / Where the old plain men have rosy faces, / And the young fair maidens / Quiet eyes" (Robert Louis Stevenson).
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
beautiful
(ˈbjuːtɪfʊl)adj
1. possessing beauty; aesthetically pleasing
2. highly enjoyable; very pleasant: the party was beautiful.
ˈbeautifulness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
beau•ti•ful
(ˈbyu tə fəl)adj.
1. having beauty; delighting the senses or mind.
2. excellent of its kind; wonderful; remarkable: a beautiful putt on the seventh hole.
n. 3. beautiful things or people collectively.
interj. 4. (often used ironically) wonderful; excellent; remarkable.
the beautiful, [1520–30]
beau′ti•ful•ly, adv.
syn: beautiful, handsome, lovely, pretty refer to a pleasing appearance. beautiful is used of a person or thing that gives intense pleasure to the senses; it may refer to a woman but rarely to a man: a beautiful landscape; a beautiful actress. handsome often implies stateliness or pleasing proportions and symmetry; it is used of a man and sometimes a woman: a handsome sofa; a handsome man. That which is lovely is beautiful in a warm and endearing way: a lovely smile. pretty usu. suggests a moderate beauty in persons or things that are small or feminine: a pretty blouse; a pretty child.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
beautiful
The following words can all be used to describe someone who is nice to look at:
| attractive | beautiful | good-looking | gorgeous | handsome |
| pretty | stunning | |||
1. 'attractive', 'gorgeous' and 'good-looking'
Attractive and gorgeous are also used to describe young children, but good-looking is not.
She had grown into a chubby attractive child, with a mop of auburn curls like her mother's.
2. 'handsome'
Handsome is used more often to describe men than women. It is used to describe any man who has regular, pleasant features. However, it is only used to describe women when their features are large and regular rather than small and delicate.
He was a tall, dark, and undeniably handsome man.
In the 1930's the ideal woman was classically handsome rather than childishly pretty.
3. 'beautiful' and 'pretty'
Beautiful and pretty are generally used to describe women and children rather than men. Only very young boys are described as pretty, not older boys, because this word implies a delicate, feminine appearance.
...a beautiful young girl with long hair.
Our mother was laughing and looking pretty and happy.
'Such a pretty baby,' clucked Mrs Morrison.
4. 'stunning'
You can also describe a woman as stunning, especially when she has made herself look particularly attractive or is wearing very attractive clothes.
An onlooker said the bride looked stunning in a full-length ivory dress.
5. degree of beauty
If you say that someone is beautiful, you are implying that they are nicer to look at than if you said they were attractive, good-looking, handsome, or pretty. If you say that someone is gorgeous or stunning, you mean that they are extremely nice to look at.
Be Careful!
You can describe someone's appearance by saying that they look nice or look wonderful, but if you call someone a nice man or a wonderful woman, or say that they are nice or are wonderful, you are describing their character, not their appearance. Similarly, lovely is more often used to describe someone's character than their appearance.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Adj. | 1. |  beautiful - delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration; "a beautiful child"; "beautiful country"; "a beautiful painting"; "a beautiful theory"; "a beautiful party"attractive - pleasing to the eye or mind especially through beauty or charm; "a remarkably attractive young man"; "an attractive personality"; "attractive clothes"; "a book with attractive illustrations" graceful - characterized by beauty of movement, style, form, or execution pleasing - giving pleasure and satisfaction; "a pleasing piece of news"; "pleasing in manner and appearance" ugly - displeasing to the senses; "an ugly face"; "ugly furniture" |
| 2. |  beautiful - (of weather) highly enjoyable; "what a beautiful day"pleasant - affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings; "we had a pleasant evening together"; "a pleasant scene"; "pleasant sensations" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
beautiful
adjective
1. attractive, pretty, lovely, stunning (informal), charming, tempting, pleasant, handsome, fetching, good-looking, gorgeous, fine, pleasing, fair, magnetic, delightful, cute, exquisite, enticing, seductive, graceful, captivating, appealing, radiant, alluring, drop-dead (slang), ravishing, bonny, winsome, comely, prepossessing, Butiful (S.M.S.) a beautiful red-haired woman kneeling at her mother's feet
attractive ugly, unpleasant, hideous, unattractive, unsightly, repulsive
attractive ugly, unpleasant, hideous, unattractive, unsightly, repulsive
2. bright, clear, fine, summery, unclouded, sunshiny, without a cloud in the sky It was a beautiful morning
3. wonderful, great, excellent, superb, marvellous, sensational (informal), mega (slang), cracking (Brit. informal), awesome (slang), topping (Brit. slang), world-class, first-rate, brill (informal), mean (slang) That's a beautiful shot!
wonderful bad, terrible, awful
wonderful bad, terrible, awful
Quotations
"Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance" [John Ruskin Stones of Venice]
"I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful" [John Constable]
"Things are beautiful if you love them" [Jean Anouilh Mademoiselle Colombe]
"Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance" [John Ruskin Stones of Venice]
"I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful" [John Constable]
"Things are beautiful if you love them" [Jean Anouilh Mademoiselle Colombe]
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
beautiful
adjectiveHaving qualities that delight the eye:
attractive, beauteous, comely, fair, good-looking, gorgeous, handsome, lovely, pretty, pulchritudinous, ravishing, sightly, stunning.
Scots: bonny.
Idiom: easy on the eyes.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
TranslationsSelect a language:
Spanish / Español
beautiful
[ˈbjuːtɪfʊl] ADJ → hermoso, bello, lindo (esp LAm)what a beautiful house! → ¡qué casa más preciosa!
the beautiful people → la gente guapa
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
beauty
(ˈbjuːti) – plural ˈbeauties – noun1. a quality very pleasing to the eye, ear etc. Her beauty is undeniable.belleza
2. a woman or girl having such a quality. She was a great beauty in her youth.belleza
ˈbeautiful adjectiveˈbeautifully adverbˈbeautify (-fai) verb to make beautiful. She beautified the room with flowers.embellecer
beauty queen a girl or woman who is voted the most beautiful in a contest. reina de la belleza
ˈbeauty salon noun (also American beauty parlor, ~beauty shop) a place where customers have cosmetic treatment. salón de belleza
beauty spot1. a place of great natural beauty. a famous beauty spot. lugar de excepcional belleza natural
2. a mark (often artificial) on the face, intended to emphasize beauty. lunar postizo
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
beautiful
→ preciosoMultilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
beautiful
a. hermoso-a, bello-a.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009