1 beautiful | Definition of beautiful
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beautiful

adjective
beau·​ti·​ful | \ ˈbyü-ti-fÉ™l How to pronounce beautiful (audio) \

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-​fÉ™l-​nÉ™s How to pronounce beautifulness (audio) \ noun

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 In the hothouse of today's celebrity monoculture, the result has been the perfection of the kind of profile in which athletes and actors struggle to overcome … absence or presence in their lives of money, fame, sex and drugs. Especially so in the upscale slicks, where these stories of the rich and beautiful emerge so flat and lifeless that no one in them casts a shadow. — Jeff MacGregor, New York Times Book Review, 21 Aug. 2005 You have the most beautiful smile. The film tells a beautiful story about two young lovers. Our hotel room had a beautiful view of the ocean. The sunsets here are absolutely beautiful. What a beautiful day for a picnic! This is a beautiful example of early American poetry.
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Recent Examples on the Web

 Pininfarina Battista GT The Pininfarina design house has penned some of the most beautiful and timeless automobiles to grace the planet. — Jeff Yip, Houston Chronicle, "Red-carpet rockets: Is 500 hp now theadmission price to supercar club?," 30 Aug. 2019 The table is undressed and bare oak, no table cloth is fresh and spare, and bare wood is beautiful and clean in the summer. — Elise Taylor, Vogue, "Setting the Mood: 6 Tastemakers Create Their Dream Summer Table Settings," 29 Aug. 2019 The interior of the Jefferson Building is one of the most beautiful and colorful spaces in the city. — Sadie Dingfelder, Washington Post, "Here’s how to tour D.C. like a boss," 29 Aug. 2019 The artist James Turrell had introduced her to Mizuno, who was beautiful and charismatic. — Calvin Tomkins, The New Yorker, "Vija Celmins’s Surface Matters," 26 Aug. 2019 Hundreds of exhibitors, from both the U.S. and abroad, will be offering all sorts of beautiful (and usually expensive, but there’s no charge to look) vintage items, plus art to inspire and jewelry to knock your eyes out. — Chris Kaltenbach, baltimoresun.com, "Things to do in Baltimore this week: Billie Holiday Arts & Music Festival, Baltimore Comedy Festival and more," 25 Aug. 2019 Tolkien’s writing is at times almost impossibly beautiful, and his vision unparalleled. — Adam Epstein, Quartzy, "George R.R. Martin may never finish those books. Here’s what to read while you wait," 24 Aug. 2019 Like the gods themselves, the Eternals are beautiful and almost infinitely powerful. — Alejandra Salazar, refinery29.com, "Who's Playing Who In The Eternals, In Case You're Not Up On Your Marvel Mythology," 24 Aug. 2019 The movie, which centered on Miles Morales but also introduced several other Spider-beings, including Spider-Gwen and Spider-Ham (yes, really), looked beautiful and asserted, confidently, that anyone can wear the mask. — Eliana Dockterman, Time, "What the Future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Looks Like Without Spider-Man," 22 Aug. 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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