exquisite

[ ik-skwiz-it, ek-skwi-zit ]

/ ɪkˈskwɪz ɪt, ˈɛk skwɪ zɪt /

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adjective

of special beauty or charm, or rare and appealing excellence, as a face, a flower, coloring, music, or poetry.

extraordinarily fine or admirable; consummate: exquisite weather.

intense; acute, or keen, as pleasure or pain.

of rare excellence of production or execution, as works of art or workmanship: the exquisite statues of the Renaissance.

keenly or delicately sensitive or responsive: an exquisite ear for music; an exquisite sensibility.

of particular refinement or elegance, as taste, manners, etc., or persons.

carefully sought out, chosen, ascertained, devised, etc.

noun

Archaic. a person, especially a man, who is excessively concerned about clothes, grooming, etc.; dandy; coxcomb.

Nearby words

Origin of exquisite

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin exquīsītus meticulous, chosen with care, originally past participle of exquīrere to ask about, examine, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + -quīrere, combining form of quaerere to seek

SYNONYMS FOR exquisite

1 dainty, beautiful, elegant, rare.

2 perfect, matchless.

3 poignant.

4 select, choice, precious.

6 discriminating.

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ANTONYMS FOR exquisite

1 gross.

2 ordinary.

3 dull.

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Related forms

ex·quis·ite·ly, adverbex·quis·ite·ness, nouno·ver·ex·quis·ite, adjectivesu·per·ex·qui·site, adjective

su·per·ex·qui·site·ly, adverbsu·per·ex·qui·site·ness, noun

Synonym study

1. See delicate. 2. See fine¹

Pronunciation note

The pronunciation of exquisite has undergone a rapid change from

[ek-skwi-zit] /ˈɛk skwɪ zɪt/ to

[ik-skwiz-it] /ɪkˈskwɪz ɪt/, with stress shifting to the second syllable. The newer pronunciation is still criticized by some, but is now more common in both the U.S. and England, and many younger educated speakers are not even aware of the older one. See harass.

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

Examples from the Web for exquisitely

He was highly perceptive and exquisitely sensitive to everything around him.
Stonewall Jackson, VMI’s Most Embattled Professor|S. C. Gwynne|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The former is an exquisitely calibrated product of American liberalism, ever attentive to such notions as “inclusiveness.”
Mr. Politically Correct Obama, Meet Your Opposite, India’s Mr. Modi|Tunku Varadarajan|May 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Any ad invoking that tragedy would have to be exquisitely sensitive and carefully crafted.
Send In Bill Clinton to Save the Democratic Midterm Campaign|Robert Shrum|April 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I had watched her shoot up into a slender but exquisitely formed woman from a frail, awkward child.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Her tender face bent in compassion over a marble form so exquisitely pure that I knelt and signed myself.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It contains an exquisitely drawn picture of his own childhood in the Limousin; its value for the literary historian is very great.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 6|Various
It struck me as exquisitely humorous, as well as exquisitely beautiful.
Fables and Fabulists: Ancient and Modern|Thomas Newbigging
The air was perfectly still, and exquisitely cold and bracing, despite the sharp grip it took upon my nose and ears.
Northern Travel|Bayard Taylor
The room was exquisitely neat and clean, as if the inspector of lighthouses might be looked for at any moment.
The Mermaid|Lily Dougall
She was a beautiful girl, and her exquisitely sweet voice could be heard in church every Sunday, taking part in the high mass.
Thirty Years In Hell|Bernard Fresenborg

British Dictionary definitions for exquisitely

exquisite

/ (ɪkˈskwɪzɪt, ˈɛkskwɪzɪt) /

adjective

possessing qualities of unusual delicacy and fine craftsmanshipjewels in an exquisite setting

extremely beautiful and pleasingan exquisite face

outstanding or excellentan exquisite victory

sensitive; discriminatingexquisite taste

fastidious and refined

intense or sharp in feelingexquisite pleasure; exquisite pain

noun

obsolete a dandy

Derived Formsexquisitely, adverbexquisiteness, noun

Word Origin for exquisite

C15: from Latin exquīsītus excellent, from exquīrere to search out, from quaerere to seek

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 exquisitely

exquisite

adj.

early 15c., "carefully selected," from Latin exquisitus "carefully sought out," thus, "choice," from past participle of exquirere "search out thoroughly," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + quaerere "to seek" (see query (v.)).

Of any thing (good or bad, torture as well as art) brought to a highly wrought condition, sometimes shading into disapproval. A vogue word 15c.-18c., given wide extensions of meaning, none of which survives. The main modern sense of "of consummate and delightful excellence" is first attested 1579, in Lyly's "Euphues." Related: Exquisitely; exquisiteness. The noun meaning "a dandy, fop" is from 1819.

exquisite

adjective

noun

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Origin of exquisite

Synonym study

Pronunciation note

Examples from the Web for exquisitely

British Dictionary definitions for exquisitely

exquisite

adjective

noun

Word Origin for exquisite

Word Origin and History for exquisitely

exquisite

Medicine definitions for exquisitely

exquisite

n.