lovely

[luhv-lee]

adjective, love·li·er, love·li·est.

charmingly or exquisitely beautiful: a lovely flower.
having a beauty that appeals to the heart or mind as well as to the eye, as a person or a face.
delightful; highly pleasing: to have a lovely time.

of a great moral or spiritual beauty: a lovely character.

noun, plural love·lies.

Informal. a beautiful woman, especially a show girl.
any person or thing that is pleasing, highly satisfying, or the like: Every car in the new line is a lovely.

adverb

Nonstandard. very well; splendidly.

Origin of lovely

before 900; Middle English luvelich, Old English luflīc amiable. See love, -ly

Related formslove·li·ly, adverblove·li·ness, noun

Synonym study

1, 2. See beautiful.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for lovelier

alluring, engaging, pleasing, splendid, sweet, stunning, pleasant, delightful, delicate, delicious, gorgeous, graceful, enchanting, pretty, exquisite, handsome, captivating, picture, fair, knockout

Examples from the Web for lovelier

Contemporary Examples of lovelier

You were certain that she was smarter than you, lovelier than you, more interesting than you.
Is Bigger Better for St. Vincent?
David Yaffe
December 4, 2014
That day she could not have been lovelier, and we had a wide-ranging conversation.
Supermodel Iman Walked Out on Me
Kevin Sessums
November 10, 2010

Historical Examples of lovelier

I do think that a white crown makes her lovelier than she was before.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
And no day specially made for so happy an event could have been lovelier.
A Singer from the Sea
Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
She vanished, a little fluttered, lovelier than ever in her mixture of confusion and timidity.
Scaramouche
Rafael Sabatini
There isn't a lovelier sight on God's earth than a well-dressed Englishwoman.
Audrey Craven
May Sinclair
Could not her old favourite Botticelli have supplied him with a lovelier type?
Audrey Craven
May Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for lovelier

lovely

adjective -lier or -liest

very attractive or beautiful
highly pleasing or enjoyablea lovely time
loving and attentive
inspiring love; lovable

noun plural -lies

slang a lovely woman

Derived Formsloveliness, 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

Word Origin and History for lovelier

lovely

adj.

Old English luflic "affectionate, loveable;" see love (n.) + -ly (1). The modern sense of "lovable on account of beauty, attractive" is from c.1300, "applied indiscriminately to all pleasing material objects, from a piece of plum-cake to a Gothic cathedral" [George P. Marsh, "The Origin and History of the English Language," 1862].