quaint
Americanadjective
-
having an old-fashioned attractiveness or charm; oddly picturesque.
a quaint old house.
- Synonyms:
- archaic, antiquated
-
strange, peculiar, or unusual in an interesting, pleasing, or amusing way.
a quaint sense of humor.
- Antonyms:
- ordinary
-
skillfully or cleverly made.
-
Obsolete. wise; skilled.
adjective
-
attractively unusual, esp in an old-fashioned style
a quaint village
-
odd, peculiar, or inappropriate
a quaint sense of duty
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of quaint
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English queinte, from Old French, variant of cointe “clever, pleasing,” from Latin cognitus “learned, known,” past participle of cognōscere “to learn, become acquainted”; see cognition
Explanation
Quaint means strange and unusual in an old-fashioned and charming way. It's a word you'd use to describe a little store that sells tea cozies and antique tea services, or your grandmother's habit of calling the radio the "wireless." There is a commonly used sarcastic sense of quaint — when something is run down or shabby and you're trying to say something positive, you might substitute "How...quaint" for "How...interesting." In Middle English, this adjective meant "clever" or "cunning." Its origin is Old French queinte, cointe, from Latin cognitus "known," from cognōscere "to learn."
Vocabulary lists containing quaint
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"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
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"To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell
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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.
Quaint advice but also true — our family recently celebrated the dog days of summer by adopting Harley, who, according to his paperwork, is a golden retriever-spaniel mix.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 13, 2024
Quaint vacation homes dot the water-facing side of the road, while waterfalls proliferate mountainside, thanks to autumn rains.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 12, 2022
Quaint details aside, this is no period piece.
From New York Times • Sep. 10, 2021
The reservations manager at Quaint Boutique Hotels, my accommodations on the Maltese island of Gozo, booked me an appointment at a pharmacy two days before my flight.
From Washington Post • Aug. 19, 2021
Quaint villages, old cities, rolling hills, and velvet valleys once more beckon to the traveler.
From The Car That Went Abroad Motoring Through the Golden Age by Paine, Albert Bigelow
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.
