lovely

[luhv-lee]

See more synonyms for lovely on Thesaurus.com

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 loveliest

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 loveliest

Contemporary Examples of loveliest

She has been married to the music critic Pete Paphides (“the loveliest man who ever lived”) since 1999.
Join Caitlin Moran’s Riotous Feminist Revolution
Lizzie Crocker
September 29, 2014
It stands entirely on its own as one of Salinger's saddest, loveliest stories.
What the Leaked J.D. Salinger Stories Reveal About the Author
Andrew Romano
November 30, 2013
The loveliest thing about this play is that all it wants to do is entertain you.
James Corden Talks About Improv and ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’
Janice Kaplan
May 16, 2012

Historical Examples of loveliest

No color, only light came to the surface of it, and broke in the loveliest smile.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
Eileen was almost, if not quite, the loveliest thing I ever have seen.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
"The Runs" was, as Hetty had said, one of the loveliest of sea-side places.
Hetty's Strange History
Anonymous
This morning there was the loveliest sunshine, and that I was going to leave behind.
Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood
George MacDonald
The loveliest spots on earth are those where man seldom comes.
Henry Dunbar
M. E. Braddon

British Dictionary definitions for loveliest

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 loveliest

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].