cute
[kyoot]
- attractive, especially in a dainty way; pleasingly pretty: a cute child; a cute little apartment.
- appealing and delightful; charming: What a cute toy!
- affectedly or mincingly pretty or clever; precious: The child has acquired some intolerably cute mannerisms.
- mentally keen; clever; shrewd.
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- the cutes, Informal. self-consciously cute mannerisms or appeal; affected coyness: The young actress has a bad case of the cutes.
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- meet cute, Informal.
- (of a romantic couple) to meet for the first time in a charming or amusing way: In this type of movie the boy and girl always meet cute.
- Also meet-cute.a situation or occasion when potential romantic partners meet for the first time in a charming or amusing way: a classic Hollywood meet cute; his meet-cute with Jane in the bookstore.
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Origin of cute
First recorded in 1615–25; aphetic variant of acute
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for cuteness
Contemporary Examples
“They are very friendly and curious,” The Evening Independent wrote in 1979 in an item emphasizing their popularity and cuteness.
Lovable ‘Madagascar’ Penguins Are Known to Rape and Torture in Real LifeAsawin Suebsaeng
November 26, 2014
But what is the end game here, and what are the unintended consequences of imbuing a robotic device with cuteness?
What Shinobi delivers on cuteness, it brings ten-fold in delicious ramen.
Alas, although Smith has so much rich material to work with, the novel suffers from an overdose of cuteness.
Historical Examples
Can't you see yet the wonderful 'cuteness of this man, Endicott?
The Art of DisappearingJohn Talbot Smith
Forgetting his 'cuteness, Walker settled the point off-hand.
The House 'Round the CornerGordon Holmes
"Sure the Dublin jackeens have never been beaten yet for cuteness," they cried.
The Irish on the SommeMichael MacDonagh
I hate the word, but she develops "cuteness" rather than anything else.
Over HereHector MacQuarrie
A reputation for "cuteness" and sharp dealing is fatal in great affairs.
Autobiography of Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie
cute
- appealing or attractive, esp in a pretty way
- mainly US informal sexually attractive
- informal affecting cleverness or prettiness
- clever; shrewd
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Word Origin
C18 (in the sense: clever): shortened from acute
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for cuteness
cute
adj.
1731, "clever," shortening of acute; informal sense of "pretty" is 1834, American English student slang. Related: Cuteness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper