beautiful

[byoo-tuh-fuhl]

adjective

1. having beauty; possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind.

   a beautiful dress;

   a beautiful speech.

   Synonyms: beauteous, fair, attractive, seemly, comely
   Antonyms: ugly

2. excellent of its kind.

   a beautiful putt on the seventh hole; The chef served us a beautiful roast of beef.

3. wonderful; very pleasing or satisfying.

noun

1. the beautiful,

   1. the concept of beauty.

   2. (used with a plural verb),  beautiful things or people collectively.

      the good and the beautiful.

   3. the ideal of beauty.

      to strive to attain the beautiful.

interjection

1. wonderful; fantastic.

   You got two front-row seats? Beautiful!

2. extraordinary; incredible: used ironically.

   Your car broke down in the middle of the freeway? Beautiful!

beautiful

/ ˈbjuːtɪfʊl /

adjective

1. possessing beauty; aesthetically pleasing

2. highly enjoyable; very pleasant

   the party was beautiful

Other Word Forms

• beautifulness noun
• beautifully adverb
• unbeautiful adjective
• unbeautifully adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of beautiful¹

First recorded in 1520–30; beauty + -ful

Example Sentences

But her school had a traditionally beautiful ingenue who landed the leads.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The librarian said, “‘There’s these files in the basement of the Central Library’ — the most beautiful building.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She’s like, ‘This is so beautiful, but we’re making a network comedy.’

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“I thought, ‘My god, I’ve never seen anything as beautiful in my life,’” she told the New York Times.

Read more on MarketWatch

Not only are they beautiful, but you can feel that they are built with a lot of passion.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• alluring 
• appealing 
• attractive 
• exquisite 
• gorgeous 
• handsome 
• lovely 
• magnificent 
• pulchritudinous 
• ravishing 
• stunning 

When To Use

What are other ways to say beautiful?

A person or thing that is beautiful possesses qualities that give great pleasure to see, hear, or think about. When should you use this adjective over handsome, lovely, or pretty? Find out on Thesaurus.com.