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definitions

esthetics

[es-thet-iks]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR esthetics ON THESAURUS.COM

noun (used with a singular verb)

aesthetics.

aesthetic

or es·thet·ic

[es-thet-ik or, esp. British, ees-]

adjective

relating to the philosophy of aesthetics; concerned with notions such as the beautiful and the ugly.
relating to the science of aesthetics; concerned with the study of the mind and emotions in relation to the sense of beauty.
having a sense of the beautiful; characterized by a love of beauty.
relating to, involving, or concerned with pure emotion and sensation as opposed to pure intellectuality.

noun

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.
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.
one’s set of principles or worldview as expressed through outward appearance, behavior, or actions: the democratic aesthetic of the abolitionists.
Archaic. the study of the nature of sensation.

Origin of aesthetic

1795–1800; < New Latin aesthēticus < Greek aisthētikós “pertaining to sense perception, perceptible, sensitive” equivalent to aisthēt(ḗs) (see aesthete) + -ikos -ic
Related formsnon·aes·thet·ic, adjectivepseu·do·aes·thet·ic, adjective
Can be confusedacetic aesthetic ascetic

Synonyms for aesthetic

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR aesthetic ON THESAURUS.COM
3. discriminating, cultivated, refined.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for esthetics

Historical Examples of esthetics

  • Drafts for the dedication, the preface, and for a work on Esthetics.

    Albert Durer

    T. Sturge Moore

  • There is a lecture on the esthetics of modern art at Philamo Hall.

  • What has the author to say of education, religion and esthetics?

    The Complete Club Book for Women

    Caroline French Benton

  • Associated words: esthetics, æsthetic, æstheticism, æsthete.

    Putnam's Word Book

    Louis A. Flemming

  • These flowers were the only concession to esthetics that Mr. Flint indulged.

    The Blood Red Dawn

    Charles Caldwell Dobie

British Dictionary definitions for esthetics

aesthetic

sometimes US esthetic

adjective Also: aesthetical, sometimes US esthetical

connected with aesthetics or its principles
  1. relating to pure beauty rather than to other considerations
  2. artistic or relating to good tastean aesthetic consideration

noun

a principle of taste or style adopted by a particular person, group, or culturethe Bauhaus aesthetic of functional modernity
Derived Formsaesthetically or sometimes US esthetically, adverb
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 esthetics

aesthetic

n.

1798, from German Ästhetisch or French esthétique, both from Greek aisthetikos "sensitive, perceptive," from aisthanesthai "to perceive (by the senses or by the mind), to feel," from PIE *awis-dh-yo-, from root *au- "to perceive" (see audience).

Popularized in English by translation of Immanuel Kant, and used originally in the classically correct sense "the science which treats of the conditions of sensuous perception." Kant had tried to correct the term after Alexander Baumgarten had taken it in German to mean "criticism of taste" (1750s), but Baumgarten's sense attained popularity in English c.1830s (despite scholarly resistance) and removed the word from any philosophical base. Walter Pater used it (1868) to describe the late 19c. movement that advocated "art for art's sake," which further blurred the sense. As an adjective by 1803. Related: Aesthetically.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
esthetics in Medicine

esthetics

[ĕs-thĕt′ĭks]

n.

Variant ofaesthetics

aesthetic

adj.

Relating to the sensations.
Relating to esthetics.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.