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handsome

adjective
hand·​some | \ ˈhan(t)-səm How to pronounce handsome (audio) \
handsomer; handsomest

Definition of handsome

1 chiefly dialectal : appropriate, suitable
2 : moderately large : sizable a painting that commanded a handsome price
3 : marked by skill or cleverness : adroit
4 : marked by graciousness or generosity : liberal handsome contributions to charity
5 : having a pleasing and usually impressive or dignified appearance
Other Words from handsome Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about handsome

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Other Words from handsome

handsomely adverb
handsomeness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for handsome

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

Examples of handsome in a Sentence

He was a handsome man, in a big-screen way, with the deep-set eyes and boyish smile and even the lumpy, interesting complexion of a Harrison Ford or a Robert Redford. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 10 May 2004 An Alexandrian statue of a ruggedly handsome man with gaunt features like Caesar's exploits the translucent glow of large-grained marble from the distant Greek island of Thasos, combining Roman attention to the texture of aging skin with the abstract elegance of Egyptian-style almond eyes and chiseled cheekbones. — Ingrid D. Rowland, New Republic, 1 & 8 Apr. 2002 The Galaxy's first stop, St. Lucia's capital city of Castries, has been destroyed by so many fires that travel writers dismiss it as holding little interest. There I came upon a handsome three-story brick building that had clearly withstood the city's century of conflagrations. It was, of all things, a Carnegie Library, built by that American millionaire's beneficence in 1916. — Carla Davidson, American Heritage, November 1999 With bonds and utility stocks under seige, many people who depend on these traditional income investments are taking a new look at real estate investment trusts. What they're finding is that "REITs" generate handsome dividend yields of 6% or more while offering the possibility of capital gains. That's not bad at a time when 10-year Treasury notes, which currently yield about 7%, come with the worry that rising interest rates will cause their value to plummet. — Lynn Asinof, Wall Street Journal, 3 June 1994 It was a handsome house situated on a large lot. The book includes many handsome illustrations. I predict that someone tall, dark, and handsome is going to come into your life. He inherited a handsome fortune. He made a handsome profit on the sale of the house. The book is a handsome tribute to a great poet.
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Recent Examples on the Web

 Given that the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt - both grizzled and a bit beaten up but all the more handsome for it - that's saying a lot. — Sebastian Smee, chicagotribune.com, "The ugly underside of Brad Pitt’s cool car in ‘Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood’," 25 Aug. 2019 Given that the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt — both grizzled and a bit beaten up but all the more handsome for it — that’s saying a lot. — Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, "The ugly underside of Brad Pitt’s cool car in ‘Once Upon a Time . . .’," 23 Aug. 2019 Blessed with some firm hands on the terror tiller and a winning cast, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a handsome, and deliciously horrible, horror movie. — Clark Collis, EW.com, "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a disgustingly good gateway horror movie," 8 Aug. 2019 Usually, the handsome, debonair actor Idris Elba plays the man of our of dreams, though in the latest installment, or rather, spinoff of the Fast & Furious franchise, Hobbs & Shaw, Elba plays the man of our nightmares (but still somehow our dreams). — Danielle Young, Essence, "Idris Elba Is The Most Delicious Villain You've Ever Seen In "Hobbs & Shaw"," 2 Aug. 2019 The 2-year-old gelding paid a handsome $31.80 to win, but more importantly was the victory for trainer Adam Kitchingman and his barn. — Jeff Nahill, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Trainer plans on beating cancer again," 30 July 2019 Townshend finished the participatory song with an aerial split and a handsome flourish on the guitar, one of his few of the evening. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "From the Archives: The Who’s generation turned out at stadium 30 years ago," 23 Aug. 2019 Still, this is light and handsome enough to work as a good mobile headphone. — Jeff Dunn, Ars Technica, "Guidemaster: The best gaming headsets for your console or gaming rig," 21 Aug. 2019 Graduating from Fort Lauderdale High, Bonnie attended FSU, returned home to Fort Lauderdale and married Robert Hodges, a handsome Marine. — sun-sentinel.com, "Deaths in South Florida: 8/20," 20 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'handsome.' 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 handsome

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for handsome

Middle English handsom easy to manipulate

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More Definitions for handsome

handsome

adjective
How to pronounce handsome (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of handsome

: pleasing to look at especially, of a person : having a pleasing appearance that causes romantic or sexual feelings in someone
: large in size or amount
: done or achieved in an impressive way

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

handsome

adjective
hand·​some | \ ˈhan-səm How to pronounce handsome (audio) \
handsomer; handsomest

Kids Definition of handsome

1

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