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:
Men can contribute to babies well into their 80s—yes, sperm quality declines but not that much—while the ability to get pregnant is pretty much capped at age 45.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
That’s a pretty brutal message, honestly, for “Saturday Night Live.”
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
"I'm here with pretty much a different sign every week," said Lynn Long, 72.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
“It was pretty amazing, considering I’d been over three years at that point on the other protocol and had never gotten there,” said Moore, a Whately, Mass., small-business owner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
When she spotted me, she turned away from Mr. Lew and said, “Ruby, there you are! I’m ready for you to show me all the pretty things!”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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
Older generations of pretties lived out in the suburbs, hidden by the hills, in rows of big houses separated by strips of private garden for their littlies to play in.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
It turned out to be both prettier and worse.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
"I think my creativity has increased during the war. I'm constantly stressed and end up building prettier homes in the game," she said.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 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
“If you don’t sign that form, you’re saying I’m not good enough. You’re saying that most every girl in that room right now is prettier and more deserving than me. That’s what you’re telling me.”
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
Fortunately, the prettiest Ferrari is also, currently, the most attainable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
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
“I feel like the prettiest girl in the room right now,” he quipped, accepting the director trophy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2026
The prettiest girl was with Gerald in front, too.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
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
He then sat down with other volunteers in a shaded eating area prettied with multicolored bougainvilleas to fret about if their work even had a place in today’s Catholic Church.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2021
Lackluster compounds are evaluated in ways guaranteed to make them look good, Goldacre writes, then prettied up even further with distorted claims of efficacy.
From New York Times ● Dec. 17, 2018
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
I long for my days at the gallery, prettied up, hair done, talking to adults about art or films or nothing at all.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
Kate, for her large part, is not satisfied to be "a plastic doll,…. a male-created bland and standard wife whose only job is prettying the prince" and to "produce an heir — and spare."
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2017
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
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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