exquisite
[ik-skwiz-it, ek-skwi-zit]
- 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.
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- Archaic. a person, especially a man, who is excessively concerned about clothes, grooming, etc.; dandy; coxcomb.
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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
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Antonyms
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. 2018
Related Words
correctlywonderfullyadmirablyflawlesslyimpeccablyexquisitelysuperblysupremelyhandsomelygracefullysplendidlymagnificentlygorgeouslysublimelyappealinglydelightfullyelegantlyseductivelyeasilydelicatelyExamples from the Web for exquisitely
Contemporary Examples
He was highly perceptive and exquisitely sensitive to everything around him.
The former is an exquisitely calibrated product of American liberalism, ever attentive to such notions as “inclusiveness.”
Any ad invoking that tragedy would have to be exquisitely sensitive and carefully crafted.
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 ShowRobert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014
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 ShowRobert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014
Historical Examples
My dear, don't fail to try them, they're exquisitely perfect!
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
All was now exquisitely restful, instinct with unlimited hope.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
The form of her face was exquisitely lovely, her complexion radiant.
Beaux and Belles of EnglandMary Robinson
It was exquisitely polished, and cased in the interior with silver.
Vivian GreyEarl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli
The weather was exquisitely still, the sky absolutely clear.
A Spirit in PrisonRobert Hichens
exquisite
- 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
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- obsolete a dandy
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Word Origin
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
exquisite
(ĕk′skwĭ-zĭt, ĭk-skwĭz′ĭt)- Extremely intense, keen, or sharp. Used of pain or tenderness.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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