lovely

[luhv-lee]

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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. 2019

Related Words for lovelies

epitome, exemplar, apotheosis, charmer, looker, love, trump, essence, champ, archetype, nonpareil, best, cream, nonesuch, pattern, ideal, criterion, lovely, champion, beauty

British Dictionary definitions for lovelies

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 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].