Trivia Time

Which Taylor Swift song includes a lyric about someone's "new aesthetic"?

Test Your Knowledge

aesthetic

American  

[es-thet-ik, ees-] / ɛsˈθɛt ɪk, is- /

Or esthetic

adjective

1. relating to the philosophy of aesthetics; concerned with notions such as the beautiful and the ugly.

2. relating to the science of aesthetics; concerned with the study of the mind and emotions in relation to the sense of beauty.

3. having a sense of the beautiful; characterized by a love of beauty.

   Synonyms:

   refined, cultivated, discriminating

4. relating to, involving, or concerned with pure emotion and sensation as opposed to pure intellectuality.

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noun

1. the philosophical theory or set of principles governing the idea of beauty at a given time and place.

   the clean lines, bare surfaces, and sense of space that bespeak the machine-age aesthetic;

   the Cubist aesthetic.

2. a particular individual’s set of ideas about style and taste, along with its expression.

   the designer’s aesthetic of accessible, wearable fashion;

   a great aesthetic on her blog.

3. one’s set of principles or worldview as expressed through outward appearance, behavior, or actions.

   the democratic aesthetic of the abolitionists.

4. Archaic. the study of the nature of sensation.

aesthetic British  

/ ɪs-, iːsˈθɛtɪk /

adjective

1. connected with aesthetics or its principles

2. 1. relating to pure beauty rather than to other considerations

   2. artistic or relating to good taste

      an aesthetic consideration

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noun

1. a principle of taste or style adopted by a particular person, group, or culture

   the Bauhaus aesthetic of functional modernity

Usage

What else does aesthetic mean? Aesthetic concerns what is considered beautiful. In pop culture, an aesthetic refers to the overall style of someone or something, like a musical sound, interior design, or even a social-media presence. In the 2010s, the term became closely associated with vaporwave culture on Tumblr.

Other Word Forms

• aesthetically
  adverb
• nonaesthetic
  adjective
• pseudoaesthetic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of aesthetic

First recorded in 1795–1800; from New Latin aesthēticus, from Greek aisthētikós “pertaining to sense perception, perceptible, sensitive,” equivalent to aisthēt(ḗs) ( see aesthete) + -ikos -ic

Explanation

The adjective aesthetic comes in handy when the subject at hand is beauty or the arts. A velvet painting of dogs playing poker might have minimal aesthetic appeal. Aesthetic, from a Greek word meaning "perception," comes to us from German philosophers who used it for a theory of the beautiful. From this technical sense, it soon came to refer to good taste and to artistry in general; if something has "aesthetic value," it has value as a work of art (even if nobody will pay much for it). It does not, however, refer to the objects themselves; do not talk about an "aesthetic painting."

Example Sentences

Matt Titterton directed the production for television, and the Queen Elizabeth, which seats fewer than 1,000, makes for an intimate presentation, with an art-deco-gone-wild aesthetic and rotating scenery.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

Kirchherr, who died at the age of 81 in 2020, has been credited with helping develop the band's aesthetic style and famous mop top hairstyle.

From BBC • May 10, 2026

Defenders of the black-and-white aesthetic eventually won the war, though, as the public’s excitement for this supposed innovation waned.

From Salon • May 8, 2026

On a recent episode of What Next, guest host Rob Gunther spoke to Scherer about Trump’s love of injecting his own face, name, and aesthetic everywhere.

From Slate • May 7, 2026

Yet he used them as if they had some not easily controllable aesthetic drive of their own.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger

Related Words

• artistic
• creative