lovely
Americanadjective
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charmingly or exquisitely beautiful.
a lovely flower.
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having a beauty that appeals to the heart or mind as well as to the eye, as a person or a face.
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delightful; highly pleasing.
to have a lovely time.
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of a great moral or spiritual beauty.
a lovely character.
noun
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Informal. a beautiful woman, especially a show girl.
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any person or thing that is pleasing, highly satisfying, or the like.
Every car in the new line is a lovely.
adverb
adjective
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very attractive or beautiful
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highly pleasing or enjoyable
a lovely time
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loving and attentive
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inspiring love; lovable
noun
Usage
What are other ways to say lovely?
The adjective lovely describes people or things that are charmingly or exquisitely beautiful. How is it different from beautiful, handsome, and pretty? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of lovely
First recorded before 900; Middle English luvelich, Old English luflīc “amiable”; love + -ly
Explanation
You've probably heard the adjective lovely to describe something good looking, but did you know that, as a noun, lovely refers, specifically, to a beautiful girl employed as a photographer’s model? From the Old English luflic “affectionate, loveable,” comes lovely, an adjective that describes a person’s or thing’s attractiveness. Find the word love in there — it's something so attractive you can't help but love it. Lovely can also refer to something delightful. For example, a pretty selection of cakes and pastries arranged on a doily could be described as lovely. Anything from your girlfriend to a fresh coat of red paint on your motorcycle can be lovely.
Vocabulary lists containing lovely
Call of Beauty: Synonyms for "Beautiful"
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"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But I also looked in at myself as a mother through the leaded-glass pane of our very lovely living-room windows, and I saw a washed-out woman worn down to the thinnest thread.
From Slate • Jul. 6, 2026
Wouldn’t it have been lovely to get in on Nvidia’s stock before it returned a combined 277% for 2024 and 2025?
From MarketWatch • Jul. 2, 2026
Krug heard the music and enjoyed a lovely night out, but he never made it to Sunday’s game.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026
“There are just so many lovely ways to create urban form that also serves as stormwater management,” Coffee says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026
I’ll be honest, I might have preferred flowers, or at least a more feminine handbag rather than a heavy-duty satchel, but still it was a lovely thought!
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
