lovely

[ luhv-lee ]

adjective

, love·li·er, love·li·est.

1. charmingly or exquisitely beautiful:

   a lovely flower.

2. having a beauty that appeals to the heart or mind as well as to the eye, as a person or a face.
3. delightful; highly pleasing:

   to have a lovely time.

4. of a great moral or spiritual beauty:

   a lovely character.

noun

, plural love·lies.

1. Informal. a beautiful woman, especially a show girl.
2. any person or thing that is pleasing, highly satisfying, or the like:

   Every car in the new line is a lovely.

adverb

1. Nonstandard. very well; splendidly.

lovely

/ ˈlʌvlɪ /

adjective

1. very attractive or beautiful
2. highly pleasing or enjoyable

   a lovely time

3. loving and attentive
4. inspiring love; lovable

noun

1. slang.
   a lovely woman

Derived Forms

• ˈloveliness, noun

Other Words From

• loveli·ly adverb
• loveli·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lovely¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English luvelich, Old English luflīc “amiable”; love + -ly

Example Sentences

This wireless speaker not only looks lovely but has a handful of really interesting features, the most interesting of which has to be letting you, at any time, rewind up to two hours with the spin of a dial.

From TechCrunch

Experiment with your drawing skills for hours on end with these pens' comfortable rubber grip, or make your letters to friends pop with lovely pastel accents.

From Popular-Science

The people are lovely, and there are some amazing places to wine and dine.

From Outside Online

Essentially, whether existing in our world is painful or lovely can be understood in aesthetic terms.

From Singularity Hub 

There is this lovely idea that academic research that’s done rigorously and challenged by peers and referees will be so robust that it can just be put into play as policy.

From Freakonomics

When he does, here is a gentleness in his voice, a reflective and lovely quality that no movie he has been in has ever captured.

From The Daily Beast

Note: The egg wash both affixes the pastry to the dish and makes a lovely browned crust.

From The Daily Beast

The Daily Beast spoke with the lovely actress about the holiday movie, in theaters Christmas Day, and much more.

From The Daily Beast

From reports it must once have been a lovely old city with stone houses and a medieval quarter.

From The Daily Beast

Was it Shakespeare, in mad pursuit of a lovely boy and that voluptuous Dark Lady?

From The Daily Beast

The afternoon was a lovely one—the day was a perfect example of the mellowest mood of autumn.

From Project Gutenberg

Within the past thirty years civilization has rapidly taken possession of this lovely region.

From Project Gutenberg

At the same time he realised that she had never seemed so adorably lovely, so exquisite, so out of his reach.

From Project Gutenberg

Louis could not help seeing the lovely group, through the half-obscuring draperies of the open door.

From Project Gutenberg

Eve, too, lovely as she is, seems to bear no likelihood of resemblance to Milton's superb mother of mankind.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• alluring
• beautiful
• captivating
• charming
• delicate
• delicious
• delightful
• enchanting
• engaging
• exquisite
• gorgeous
• graceful
• handsome
• pleasant
• pleasing
• pretty
• splendid
• stunning
• sweet

When To Use

What are other ways to say lovely?

The adjective lovely describes people or things that are charmingly or exquisitely beautiful. How is it different from beautiful, handsome, and pretty? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.