handsome
Americanadjective
-
having an attractive, well-proportioned, and imposing appearance suggestive of health and strength; good-looking.
a handsome man;
a handsome woman.
- Antonyms:
- ugly
-
having pleasing proportions, relationships, or arrangements, as of shapes, forms, or colors; attractive.
a handsome house;
a handsome interior.
-
considerable, ample, or liberal in amount.
a handsome fortune.
- Synonyms:
- munificent, generous, large
-
gracious; generous; flattering.
a handsome compliment;
a handsome recommendation.
- Antonyms:
- miserly, stingy, ungenerous
-
adroit and appealing; graceful.
a handsome speech.
adjective
-
(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 comely
a handsome room
-
liberal or ample
a handsome allowance
-
gracious or generous
a handsome action
-
pleasant
handsome weather
noun
Usage
What are other ways to say handsome?
Someone who is handsome is attractive with a well-proportioned appearance that is suggestive of health and strength. How does handsome compare with lovely, beautiful, and pretty? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
- handsomeish adjective
- handsomely adverb
- handsomeness noun
- superhandsome adjective
Etymology
Origin of handsome
First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English hondsom, handsum “easy to control, handy”; cognate with West Frisian hānsum “easy to control, convenient,” Dutch handzaam “easy to manage”; hand, -some 1
Explanation
If your father is described as handsome, it means he is good-looking, attractive in a classically masculine way. If your mother is also called handsome, it means while she's striking, if not exactly pretty. Handsome is always a compliment, an admiring way of describing someone, although it's sometimes used as a way to describe a woman who's not conventionally attractive but is still interesting-looking. You can use it to describe an object as well as a person, in which case you are most likely talking about something that's really well-made, or of an obviously high quality, like a particularly handsome oak dining-room table. Occasionally, people talk about a handsome amount of money or a handsome number of votes; this is a generally admiring way of describing almost anything.
Vocabulary lists containing handsome
Call of Beauty: Synonyms for "Beautiful"
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"The Frog-Prince" by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He described himself as "speedy, skilful, handsome and destructive".
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
The gains have been handsome, so there’s nothing wrong with taking profits, especially with all the good news on energy already behind the market.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Enter Digby, a handsome, quick-witted and wealthy enigma who smells faintly of fig.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
Google’s Gemini, not some ruggedly handsome Englishman, was my partner on this trip.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026
His mussed brown curls and full lips gave him an air of innocence, but his hazel eyes were as hard and wary as those of a meadow viper, his handsome face all sharp edges.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
