lovely
[luhv-lee]
- 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.
Show More
- 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.
Show More
- Nonstandard. very well; splendidly.
Show More
Origin of lovely
Synonym study
1, 2. See beautiful.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
epitome, exemplar, apotheosis, charmer, looker, love, trump, essence, champ, archetype, nonpareil, best, cream, nonesuch, pattern, ideal, criterion, lovely, champion, beautylovely
- very attractive or beautiful
- highly pleasing or enjoyablea lovely time
- loving and attentive
- inspiring love; lovable
Show More
- slang a lovely woman
Show More
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 lovelies
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].
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper