beautiful
Americanadjective
-
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
-
excellent of its kind.
a beautiful putt on the seventh hole; The chef served us a beautiful roast of beef.
-
wonderful; very pleasing or satisfying.
noun
interjection
-
wonderful; fantastic.
You got two front-row seats? Beautiful!
-
extraordinary; incredible: used ironically.
Your car broke down in the middle of the freeway? Beautiful!
adjective
-
possessing beauty; aesthetically pleasing
-
highly enjoyable; very pleasant
the party was beautiful
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
- beautifully adverb
- beautifulness noun
- unbeautiful adjective
- unbeautifully adverb
Etymology
Origin of beautiful
Explanation
The adjective beautiful describes a thing that is pleasing to the senses. A field of wildflowers, a colorful sunset, and an abstract sculpture could all be considered beautiful. The word beautiful is closely related to the words beauty and beautify, and you'll notice they all share the same beginning, beau-. Almost anything can be described as beautiful because, as the saying goes, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." So while you may think the brown spotted grass frog is unattractive, a scientist who spends all day studying them may think it's beautiful.
Vocabulary lists containing beautiful
Spelling Practice, Unit 2
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Lives of the Saints” is an ode to the folly—and the ecstasy—of clinging to beautiful delusions long past their expiration dates.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
Via nose jobs, some of these girls exchanged striking and quite beautiful looks for ordinary and merely pretty ones.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
"This is meant to be one of the most beautiful parts of Scotland," he said.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
“It is such a beautiful thing to have been her father.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026
“And so you paint beautiful things?” he asked Squint.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
