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• bonny
  bonny

  adjective

  pleasing to the eye; handsome; pretty.
• Bonny
  Bonny

  noun

  a wide bay at the E end of the Gulf of Guinea off the coasts of Nigeria and Cameroon

bonny

American  

[bon-ee] / ˈbɒn i /

Or bonnie

adjective

bonnier, bonniest

1. Chiefly Scot. pleasing to the eye; handsome; pretty.

2. British Dialect.

   1. (of people) healthy, sweet, and lively.

   2. (of places) placid; tranquil.

   3. pleasing; agreeable; good.

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adverb

1. British Dialect. pleasingly; agreeably; very well.

noun

1. Scot. and North England Archaic. a pretty girl or young woman.

bonny ¹ British  

/ ˈbɒnɪ /

adjective

1. dialect beautiful or handsome

   a bonny lass

2. merry or lively

   a bonny family

3. good or fine

   a bonny house

4. (esp of babies) plump

5. dialect considerable; to be reckoned with

   cost a bonny penny

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adverb

1. informal agreeably or well

   to speak bonny

Bonny ² British  

/ ˈbɒnɪ /

noun

1. Former name (until 1975): Bight of Biafra. a wide bay at the E end of the Gulf of Guinea off the coasts of Nigeria and Cameroon

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Other Word Forms

• bonniness
  noun
• bonnily
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of bonny

1425–75; late Middle English ( Scots ) bonie, perhaps < Old French bon good + -ie -y ¹, perhaps by analogy with jolie jolly

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bonny Bonny bonnier bonniest

And Coach Kliff Kingsbury, the bonny prince plucked from Texas Tech in 2019, was scheduled to receive his comeuppance by now.

From New York Times ● Oct. 6, 2021

Coming behind, Fleetwood would take that par right now, as he lashes a long iron into the bonny heather well to the right of the green.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 19, 2019

“It’s bonny, happy, chirpy, fun,” director Richmond says of the score, noting that it’s hardly what audiences will expect the witches to sing.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 5, 2018

Basically, Claire pulls the 18th century equivalent of a #yesallwomen campaign, and celebrates her victory by standing on a buttress and smiling vacantly at some wee bonny children.

From Time ● Aug. 16, 2014

Still, it was a June day to be blithe and bonny in.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

“He saw it as, ‘This little girl can’t be raised by Bonny Lee Bakley.’”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Vincenzo Italiano's players held their nerve better in the shoot-out, with Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolo Barella and Ange-Yoan Bonny all failing from the spot for Inter.

From Barron's ● Dec. 19, 2025

In light of the administration’s security strategy, the sale shows “its actions are aligning with its words,” said Bonny Lin, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025

Lee Calvert stands in the living room of her daughter’s home in Bonny Doon, Calif., in May 27.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2025

A band began playing “That Bonny Blue Flag,” in Lee’s honor.

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara

While some of his ban mots may have grown bonnier in telling, and others may be wholly apocryphal, who can say for sure?

From Time Magazine Archive

“Not a bit, and you never will. You’ve grown bigger and bonnier, but you are the same scapegrace as ever.”

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

No a bonnier or better pair between this and Johnny Groat's, and just a real bargain as to price.'

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 8 by Various

Yes, I think every one would say Elsie was the bonnier baby.

From Little Folks A Magazine for the Young (Date of issue unknown) by Various

I was the same young man, and neither better nor bonnier, that they had rejected a month before; and now there was no civility too fine for me!

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 11 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson

The prams of Britain are filled with the bonniest babies in living memory.

From Time Magazine Archive

So he suggested a cat instead, “the bonniest little cat ye ever did see.”

From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn

People said that Elizabeth was a perfect picture; though, so far as I could judge, Rachel was the bonniest of the two; but they were remarkably like each other.

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 12 by Various

She was the reddest-cheeked, bluest-eyed, and bonniest girl that had ever come across the mountains, so Medicine Dog swore unanimously, at any rate.

From Woven with the Ship A Novel of 1865 by Cyrus Townsend Brady

Tidy and prim in her apron and gown, Brightest of eyes, of the bonniest brown; Tiniest fingers, and needle so fleet, Pattern of womanhood, down at my feet!

From Happy Days for Boys and Girls by Various

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