pretty
Americanadjective
-
prettier,
comparative
-
prettiest
superlative
-
pleasing or attractive to the eye, as by delicacy or gracefulness.
a pretty face.
- Synonyms:
- attractive
- Antonyms:
- ugly
-
(of things, places, etc.) pleasing to the eye, especially without grandeur.
- Synonyms:
- pleasant
-
pleasing to the ear.
a pretty tune.
- Synonyms:
- pleasant
-
pleasing to the mind or aesthetic taste.
He writes pretty little stories.
- Synonyms:
- pleasant
-
(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.
noun
-
pretties
plural
-
Usually pretties. pretty ornaments, clothes, etc.
-
a pretty person.
Sit down, my pretty.
adverb
-
fairly or moderately.
Her work was pretty good.
- Synonyms:
- somewhat
-
quite; very.
The wind blew pretty hard.
-
Informal. prettily.
verb (used with object)
-
pretties,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prettied,
past participle, past
-
prettying
present participle
idioms
adjective
-
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 excellent, grand, or fine
here's a pretty mess!
-
informal lacking in masculinity; effeminate; foppish
-
vigorous or brave
-
an archaic word for elegant
-
informal a large sum of money
-
informal well placed or established financially, socially, etc
noun
adverb
-
informal fairly or moderately; somewhat
-
informal quite or very
verb
Usage
The qualifying adverb pretty, meaning “fairly or moderately” has been in general use since the late 16th century. Although most common in informal speech and writing, it is far from restricted to them, and often is less stilted than alternatives such as relatively, moderately, and quite.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
prettinessnoun
-
unprettinessnoun
-
prettyishadjective
-
unprettyadjective
-
prettilyadverb
-
unprettilyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
prettysimple
-
prettiessimple
-
have prettiedperfect
-
has prettiedperfect
-
am prettyingprogressive
-
are prettyingprogressive
-
is prettyingprogressive
-
have been prettyingperfect progressive
-
has been prettyingperfect progressive
Past
-
prettiedsimple
-
had prettiedperfect
-
was prettyingprogressive
-
were prettyingprogressive
-
had been prettyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pretty
First recorded before 1000; Middle English prati(e), pratte, prettie “cunning, gallant, fine, handsome, pretty”; Old English prættig, prettī “cunning,” derivative of prǣtt “a trick, wile”; cognate with Dutch part, pret “trick, prank,” Old Norse prettr “trick,” prettugr “tricky”
Explanation
Use the word pretty to describe something with a delicate and pleasant appearance. Something that’s pretty is less powerful and intimidating than something that’s beautiful, the way a pretty floral raincoat is less intimidating than a beautiful film star. The adjective pretty describes things that look nice, but it can also be used jokingly to say that something’s bad. If you say, “That’s a pretty mess you got me into!” that means it’s a bad mess. Pretty has an adverb form that means something is present to a moderate degree, another way to say fairly. You might be pretty sure you’ll be done studying by 9:00. That means you’re fairly certain but not positive.
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.
See Examples For:
But a volunteer at the polling place confided, on condition of anonymity, that "it seems like people are pretty clear."
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
“It pretty much eliminates a barrier of entry to discovery.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
"The first thing I saw was the word 'nuclear' and that made me pretty nervous and scared. So my first thought was that something nuclear was actually flying toward us."
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
No one wants to say goodbye to Chargers mainstay Khalil Mack that way, but the veteran defender should be worth a pretty pick to a contender.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
‘Does she want to see them swim, the pretty arrows and the shiny, shiny bows?’
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Squadrons of hair-metal pretties followed the new-wave glamourpusses, and even paragon-of-rock-virtue Bruce Springsteen had to wiggle his bum for pop culture’s new star-making machine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2021
I mean, it’s at that point you want to say, “Hello, my pretties, soon you too will be wearing the burgundy lipstick.”
From Slate ● Jan. 24, 2018
For $18.50, these twinned pretties seem just right.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2016
Last week, Kane’s hometown newspaper, the Times-Tribune of Scranton, ran a Halloween-theme cartoon of her as a witch saying: “I’ll get you my pretties … and your filthy emails too.”
From Washington Times ● Nov. 5, 2015
But now Tally was headed into the center of the island, where floats and revelers populated the bright streets all night Brand-new pretties like Peris always lived where the fun was most frantic.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
But the price tag, some will think, is even prettier.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
It got prettier, too, when Claude Code built a cleaner user interface for…Claude Code.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
Now it’s an endless scroll of people who appear richer, prettier, more successful.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 21, 2026
The counterpoint is that the good life is prettier.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2025
Moreover, her X-ray pictures were getting prettier and prettier.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
Using the descriptive phrasing that was common then among older people, she said, “That is the prettiest little girl I have ever seen.”
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
The prettiest team at the tournament was learning to win ugly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
“Even though I might have not been the most successful or the prettiest model that she had, I was reliable,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
As journalist Macaulay Connor says in “The Philadelphia Story,” “The prettiest sight in this fine pretty world is the privileged class enjoying its privileges.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
And so Louisiana started singing “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” in the prettiest voice Raymie had ever heard.
From "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo
The chef thinks outside the forum with a skewer of grilled portobello mushrooms on smoked graviera cream — a meat-free souvlaki prettied up with grated cured egg yolk and newly rethought with farro and hazelnuts.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 24, 2022
She looked over a Mitla parking lot fence prettied with balloons and flowers fake and real.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2020
So he created The Ordinary, a line of a la carte ingredients that are usually prettied up or disguised and sold at a premium by other brands.
From New York Times ● Apr. 17, 2019
They are prettied up, to be sure – they are not the oligarchy as it is, but as it would like to see itself.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 2, 2018
Aunt Loma’s face prettied with pleasure at the compliment.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
If your partner isn’t willing to embrace these incidents, you’re probably going to feel prettying alone in addressing them.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2015
But there’s not way of prettying up the squalid truth: “My legendary girlfriend, she is crying tonight / Oh no, she doesn’t feel right / She’s got no one to hold.”
From The Guardian ● Jun. 24, 2015
By hanging a sign on, exposing, illuminating or prettying up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2014
But these women are not ornamental, prettying up the scenery.
From New York Times ● Dec. 21, 2010
As the nomad tribe passed from place to place with its goats, its sheep, its camels, Johnny with his sons and grandsons would take to prettying up the camp sites a bit.
From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Thirty-Seventh Annual Report Wooster, Ohio, September 3, 4, 5, 1946 by Northern Nut Growers Association
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