11/20/2019 Beautiful | Definition of Beautiful by Merriam-Webster

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11/20/2019 Beautiful | Definition of Beautiful by Merriam-Webster

beau·ti·ful | \ ˈbyü-ti-fəl \

Definition of beautiful
1 : having qualities of beauty : exciting aesthetic pleasure
2 : generally pleasing : excellent
Other Words from beautiful Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Can beautiful be
used to describe a man? Example Sentences Learn More about beautiful

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Other Words from beautiful

beautifulness \ ˈbyü-ti-fəl-nəs \ noun

Synonyms & Antonyms for beautiful

Synonyms

aesthetic
(also esthetic or aesthetical or esthetical),
attractive,
beauteous,
bonny
(also bonnie)
[chiefly British],
comely,
cute,
drop-dead,
fair,
fetching,
good,
good-looking,
goodly,
gorgeous,
handsome,
knockout,
likely,
lovely,
lovesome,
pretty,
ravishing,
seemly,
sightly,
stunning,
taking,
well-favored

Antonyms

grotesque,
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11/20/2019 Beautiful | Definition of Beautiful by Merriam-Webster

hideous,
homely,
ill-favored,
plain,
ugly,
unaesthetic,
unattractive,
unbeautiful,
uncomely,
uncute,
unhandsome,
unlovely,
unpleasing,
unpretty,
unsightly

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Choose the Right Synonym for beautiful

beautiful, lovely, handsome, pretty, comely, fair mean exciting sensuous or aesthetic pleasure. beautiful applies to
whatever excites the keenest of pleasure to the senses and stirs emotion through the senses. beautiful mountain
scenery lovely is close to beautiful but applies to a narrower range of emotional excitation in suggesting the
graceful, delicate, or exquisite. a lovely melody handsome suggests aesthetic pleasure due to proportion,
symmetry, or elegance. a handsome Georgian mansion pretty often applies to superficial or insubstantial
attractiveness. a painter of conventionally pretty scenes comely is like handsome in suggesting what is coolly
approved rather than emotionally responded to. the comely grace of a dancer fair suggests beauty because of
purity, flawlessness, or freshness. fair of face

beautiful, pretty, and handsome mean pleasing or delightful in some way. beautiful is used of whatever is most
pleasing to the senses or the mind. We saw a beautiful sunset. It was a beautiful story about faith. pretty is usually
used of something that is small or dainty. She held a pretty little doll. handsome is used of something that is well
formed and therefore pleasing to look at. The mayor sat at a handsome desk.

Can beautiful be used to describe a man?

Our evidence shows that when beautiful is used to describe physical beauty, it is overwhelming used of women or
a physical aspect of a woman (such as her hair or skin). This hasn't always been the case: when beautiful first
came into English it was used as easily of men as it was of women. Nowadays, handsome is the adjective of
appreciation most commonly used of men.

The plural noun phrase beautiful people doesn't refer to the overall looks of the people mentioned, but rather the
elegance and sumptuousness of their lives.

Examples of beautiful in a Sentence

Located on one of the most beautiful and untouched coastlines in America, this recreational area has much to
offer. You can hike on rocky headlands that rise dramatically from the Pacific Ocean, ride horses or bikes along
scenic trails, walk along the many beaches, kayak on pristine Tomales Bay, or spy the abundance of native flowers
and wildlife, including elephant seals and tule elk. — Tim Fish, Wine Spectator, 15 Nov. 2008 In her biography of
Monroe, Churchwell takes to task the relentless mythomania of her admirers and critics, who are equally invested
in nurturing the legend of a hapless beautiful woman consumed by her desire for celebrity and love. — Lakshmi
Chaudhry, Nation, 27 Aug.-3 Sept. 2007
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11/20/2019 Beautiful | Definition of Beautiful by Merriam-Webster

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Recent Examples on the Web The spacefaring world of the game is beautiful, brightly colored, a site of awe and
mystery—and absolutely depressing to the core. — Wired, "The Outer Worlds: An Anti-Capitalist Game That's
Too Much Work," 6 Nov. 2019 The cinematic trailer is beautiful, per usual, but the in-game trailer is obviously a
bit more pertinent. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "BlizzCon 2019: Blizzard announces Diablo IV, Overwatch 2,
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands," 1 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of
the word 'beautiful.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its
editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of beautiful

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for beautiful

Middle English bewteful, beautefull, from beaute beauty + -ful, -full -ful entry 1

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Resources for beautiful

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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster

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Dictionary Entries near beautiful

beaut

beauteous

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beautician

beautiful

beautiful letters

beautifully

beautiful people

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Statistics for beautiful

Last Updated

13 Nov 2019

Look-up Popularity

Top 1% of lookups

Time Traveler for beautiful

The first known use of beautiful was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for beautiful

beautiful

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of beautiful

: very attractive in a physical way
: giving pleasure to the mind or the senses
: very good or pleasing : not having any bad qualities

See the full definition for beautiful in the English Language Learners Dictionary

beautiful

adjective
beau·ti·ful | \ ˈbyü-ti-fəl \

Kids Definition of beautiful

1 : having qualities of beauty : giving pleasure to the mind or senses a beautiful child a beautiful song
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11/20/2019 Beautiful | Definition of Beautiful by Merriam-Webster

2 : very good : excellent beautiful weather

Other Words from beautiful

beautifully adverb

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More from Merriam-Webster on beautiful

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for beautiful

Spanish Central: Translation of beautiful

Nglish: Translation of beautiful for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of beautiful for Arabic Speakers

Comments on beautiful

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