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.
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
1word story For handsome
In the English of the mid-15th century, when this word was first recorded (as hondsom ), it meant “easy to handle” (obsolete now); by the mid-16th century handsome developed the senses “convenient, handy, suitable” (also obsolete) and “courteous, gracious,” and then “generous, noble, magnanimous.” Here we see the development from a meaning closely related to hands to one that simply implies their existence (behind the generosity).
The sense “(of a person) having an attractive appearance” dates from the late 16th century; the sense of “fairly large, considerable (as of an amount of money)” also dates from the latter half of the 16th century.
Other words for handsome
Opposites for handsome
Other words from handsome
- hand·some·ish, adjective
- hand·some·ness, noun
- su·per·hand·some, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use handsome in a sentence
Neither did Cary Grant, who was the greatest male movie star of all-time, and certainly one of the handsomest.
Did the Academy Snub Robert Redford Because He’s So Damn Handsome? | Andrew Romano | January 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt could be that the handsomest nominees almost always deliver inferior performances.
Did the Academy Snub Robert Redford Because He’s So Damn Handsome? | Andrew Romano | January 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI saw her seven years ago at Covent Garden, and she was the handsomest thing I ever looked at.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonSome of the finest and handsomest articles of the bedstead in the city, are at the establishment of Mr. Boyd.
It is not one of the largest and handsomest, although it is one of the sacred towns, and is visited by many pilgrims.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida Pfeiffer
The handsomest parts of the imperial palace are the universally admired and magnificent audience saloon and the mosque.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferThe modern part of Edinburgh was begun at the close of last century, and the handsomest streets are of a quite recent date.
Friend Mac Donald | Max O'Rell
British Dictionary definitions for handsome
/ (ˈhændsəm) /
(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
Southwest English pleasant: handsome weather
Southwest English a term of endearment for a beloved person, esp in my handsome
Origin of handsome
1Derived forms of handsome
- handsomely, adverb
- handsomeness, noun
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
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