handsome
- having an attractive, well-proportioned, and imposing appearance suggestive of health and strength; good-looking: a handsome man; a handsome woman.
- having pleasing proportions, relationships, or arrangements, as of shapes, forms, or colors; attractive: a handsome house; a handsome interior.
- exhibiting skill, taste, and refinement; well-made: a handsome story; handsome furniture.
- considerable, ample, or liberal in amount: a handsome fortune.
- gracious; generous; flattering: a handsome compliment; a handsome recommendation.
- adroit and appealing; graceful: a handsome speech.
Origin of handsome
Synonyms for handsome
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comSynonym study
Antonyms for handsome
Related Words for handsome
beautiful, clean-cut, athletic, suave, smooth, elegant, good-looking, graceful, stylish, dapper, lovely, personable, smart, stately, lavish, generous, gracious, admirable, aristocratic, augustExamples from the Web for handsome
Contemporary Examples of handsome
I think everybody would like to be handsome and good at karate.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISISMarlow Stern
January 8, 2015
The handsome Alexander Gilkes is one of the best-connected tastemakers on the art scene.
William, Kate, and Jay Z’s Favorite Art Star: Alexander Gilkes' World of Rock Stars and RoyaltyTim Teeman
December 10, 2014
Mark Reay is a handsome model-turned-photographer who is homeless, living in a secret ‘nest’ on top of an apartment building.
Creator Takeuchi has described the handsome, older (than Sailor Moon) boy as her favorite character in the series.
‘Sailor Moon’ Is an Oasis for Superheroes Who Can Save the Universe in HeelsRich Goldstein
November 26, 2014
Why aren't you as handsome and/or Canadian as Justin Bieber?
Historical Examples of handsome
He worships every handsome woman, who will allow herself to be polluted by his incense.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
And there was big, handsome, Eddie Arledge, whose father had treated him shabbily.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
If he had engaged himself to a handsome schoolmistress, it was his fancy, and he could afford it.
MalboneThomas Wentworth Higginson
He was handsome and possessed a most intelligent and expressive countenance.
The Grand Old ManRichard B. Cook
Miss Glynne and her sister were known as "the handsome Miss Glynnes."
The Grand Old ManRichard B. Cook
handsome
- (of a man) good-looking, esp in having regular, pleasing, and well-defined features
- (of a woman) fine-looking in a dignified way
- well-proportioned, stately, or comelya handsome room
- liberal or amplea handsome allowance
- gracious or generousa handsome action
- Southwest English pleasanthandsome weather
- Southwest English a term of endearment for a beloved person, esp in my handsome
Word Origin for handsome
Word Origin and History for handsome
c.1400, handsom "easy to handle, ready at hand," from hand (n.) + -some (1). Sense extended to "fair size, considerable" (1570s), then "having fine form, good-looking" (1580s). Meaning "generous" (in handsome reward, etc.) first recorded 1680s.
[Americans] use the word "handsome" much more extensively than we do: saying that Webster made a handsome speech in the Senate: that a lady talks handsomely, (eloquently:) that a book sells handsomely. A gentleman asked me on the Catskill Mountain, whether I thought the sun handsomer there than at New York. [Harriet Martineau, "Society in America," 1837]
Related: Handsomeness.