Pretty

/ˈpɹɪt.i/ · adjective

Meaning

Pleasant to the sight or other senses; attractive, especially of women or children..

Definitions by Sense

1. Pleasant to the sight or other senses; attractive, especially of women or children.
2. Of objects or things: nice-looking, appealing.
3. (often derogatory) Fine-looking; only superficially attractive; initially appealing but having little substance; see petty.
4. (UK, sometimes derogatory) Effeminate.
5. Cunning; clever, skilful.
6. (dated) Moderately large; considerable.
7. (dated) Excellent, commendable, pleasing; fitting or proper (of actions, thoughts etc.).
8. (ironic) Awkward, unpleasant, bad.

Example Sentences

Having brought it to a close, he took his way to the Kursaal. The great German watering-place is one of the prettiest nooks in Europe, and of a summer evening in the gaming days, five-and-twenty years ago, it was one of the most brilliant scenes.

Hal Smith, manager of the Ferry Field theatre, Detroit, one of the largest and prettiest outskirt houses in town, played Metro's "Revelation" for three days last week

The face which emerged was not reassuring.[…]. He was not a mongol but there was a deficiency of a sort there, and it was not made more pretty by a latter-day hair cut which involved eccentrically long elf-locks and oiled black curls.

To escape a violent beating from sailors to whom he has sold a non-functioning car, Jerry takes his stepfamily for a holiday in a trailer park miles away, where, miraculously, young Nick meets a very pretty young woman called Sheeni, played by Portia Doubleday.

Some fans may have mistaken the album’s floatiness for aimlessness, but Mr. Mercer’s songs have never been sneakier, or prettier.

'Petit Posy' brassicas […] are a cross between kale and brussels sprouts, and are really very pretty with a mild, sweet taste.

Damned by the Socialists as "traitors to the working class," its leaders were decried by Tories as "faceless peddlers of politics with a pretty little trinket for every taste."

In the end, however, it was a very pretty shot, right across the chasm; killed first fire, and the brute fell headlong into the brook […].

Synonyms for pretty

Antonyms for pretty

Related Words

Word Forms

• prettier
• prettiest
• pooty
• purdy
• purty
• pratty
• prettie
• pretie
• pretties
• prettying
• prettied

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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