pretty
pleasing or attractive to the eye, as by delicacy or gracefulness: a pretty face.
(of things, places, etc.) pleasing to the eye, especially without grandeur.
pleasing to the ear: a pretty tune.
pleasing to the mind or aesthetic taste: He writes pretty little stories.
(often used ironically) fine; grand: This is a pretty mess!
Informal. considerable; fairly great: This accident will cost him a pretty sum.
Archaic or Scot. brave; hardy.
Usually pretties. pretty ornaments, clothes, etc.
a pretty person: Sit down, my pretty.
fairly or moderately: Her work was pretty good.
quite; very: The wind blew pretty hard.
Informal. prettily.
to make pretty; improve the appearance of (sometimes followed by up): to pretty oneself for a party;to pretty up a room.
Idioms about pretty
sitting pretty, Informal.
in an advantageous position.
well-to-do; successful.
Origin of pretty
1usage note For pretty
Other words for pretty
Opposites for pretty
Other words from pretty
- pret·ti·ly, adverb
- pret·ti·ness, noun
- pret·ty·ish, adjective
- un·pret·ti·ly, adverb
- un·pret·ti·ness, noun
- un·pret·ty, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use pretty in a sentence
It helped me look in the mirror and feel younger and prettier.
The Unsinkable Lee Grant Sets the Record Straight | William O’Connor | July 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAfter all, why would you want to read in a longer and prettier form something that's already been published?
Later she says that Hillary is “just a phase” for Bill, before pressing her to wear something prettier for her boy.
Some of the Juiciest Bits of ‘Rodham,’ the Hillary Clinton Movie Biopic: Sex, Scandal, More | Marlow Stern | May 13, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe whole thing is a substantive sop to the GOP right wing wrapped in a prettier package.
“[The] overwhelming pressure to be thinner, prettier, and sexier begins subtly,” she says on her website.
What can be prettier than a brood of chickens with a good motherly hen, like the one in this picture!
The Nursery, July 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 1 | VariousIsn't our new home lots prettier than the little brick house where we used to live—77 Brown Street, Baltimore!
Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn RaymondThe children of such couples are prettier, and appear to me to be more intelligent, than the pure race of either.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil | Maria GrahamThey mostly go together, women and trouble; and the prettier the women are, the greater the trouble, that's my experience.
The Light That Lures | Percy BrebnerAmong the girls in the party none was prettier or more charmingly gowned than Marian.
A Hoosier Chronicle | Meredith Nicholson
British Dictionary definitions for pretty
/ (ˈprɪtɪ) /
pleasing or appealing in a delicate or graceful way
dainty, neat, or charming
commendable; good of its kind: he replied with a pretty wit
informal, often ironic excellent, grand, or fine: here's a pretty mess!
informal lacking in masculinity; effeminate; foppish
Scot vigorous or brave
an archaic word for elegant
a pretty penny informal a large sum of money
sitting pretty informal well placed or established financially, socially, etc
a pretty person or thing
informal fairly or moderately; somewhat
informal quite or very
(tr often foll by up) to make pretty; adorn
Origin of pretty
1Derived forms of pretty
- prettily, adverb
- prettiness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with pretty
In addition to the idioms beginning with pretty
- pretty as a picture
- pretty much
- pretty penny, a
also see:
- in a fix (pretty pickle)
- kettle of fish, pretty
- sitting pretty
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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