cute

[kyoot]

adjective, cut·er, cut·est.

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.

noun

the cutes, Informal. self-consciously cute mannerisms or appeal; affected coyness: The young actress has a bad case of the cutes.

Idioms

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.

Origin of cute

First recorded in 1615–25; aphetic variant of acute

Related formscute·ly, adverbcute·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cuteness

Contemporary Examples of cuteness

“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 Life
Asawin Suebsaeng
November 26, 2014
But what is the end game here, and what are the unintended consequences of imbuing a robotic device with cuteness?
Does a Robot Need to Be Cute?
Annabelle Gurwitch
June 22, 2014
What Shinobi delivers on cuteness, it brings ten-fold in delicious ramen.
Underground Ramen’s Mainstream Moment
Sara Sayed
May 12, 2014
Alas, although Smith has so much rich material to work with, the novel suffers from an overdose of cuteness.
‘NW’ by Zadie Smith: Review
Lauren Elkin
September 2, 2012

Historical Examples of cuteness

Can't you see yet the wonderful 'cuteness of this man, Endicott?
The Art of Disappearing
John Talbot Smith
Forgetting his 'cuteness, Walker settled the point off-hand.
The House 'Round the Corner
Gordon Holmes
"Sure the Dublin jackeens have never been beaten yet for cuteness," they cried.
The Irish on the Somme
Michael MacDonagh
I hate the word, but she develops "cuteness" rather than anything else.
Over Here
Hector MacQuarrie
A reputation for "cuteness" and sharp dealing is fatal in great affairs.
Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie

British Dictionary definitions for cuteness

cute

adjective

appealing or attractive, esp in a pretty way

mainly US informal sexually attractive

informal affecting cleverness or prettiness

clever; shrewd

Derived Formscutely, adverbcuteness, noun

Word Origin for cute

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.