pretty
pleasing or attractive to the eye, as by delicacy or gracefulness: a pretty face.
(of things, places, etc.) pleasing to the eye, especially without grandeur.
pleasing to the ear: a pretty tune.
pleasing to the mind or aesthetic taste: He writes pretty little stories.
(often used ironically) fine; grand: This is a pretty mess!
Informal. considerable; fairly great: This accident will cost him a pretty sum.
Archaic or Scot. brave; hardy.
Usually pretties. pretty ornaments, clothes, etc.
a pretty person: Sit down, my pretty.
fairly or moderately: Her work was pretty good.
quite; very: The wind blew pretty hard.
Informal. prettily.
to make pretty; improve the appearance of (sometimes followed by up): to pretty oneself for a party;to pretty up a room.
Idioms about pretty
sitting pretty, Informal.
in an advantageous position.
well-to-do; successful.
Origin of pretty
1usage note For pretty
Other words for pretty
Opposites for pretty
Other words from pretty
- pret·ti·ly, adverb
- pret·ti·ness, noun
- pret·ty·ish, adjective
- un·pret·ti·ly, adverb
- un·pret·ti·ness, noun
- un·pret·ty, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use pretty in a sentence
Staying in great mental shape for these next two to three games has been pretty difficult.
Navy will host Memphis and Tulsa to make up games postponed by coronavirus issues | Kareem Copeland | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostTurns out none of us is superhuman, although Terri and Robert Abbe, a San Francisco investment banker, fake it pretty well.
On mountain bikes in the Utah desert, a college reunion like no other | John Briley | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostAny chance of Baltimore’s Grand Central nightclub ever reopening after the pandemic was pretty much wiped out over the weekend, as a work crew cleared out its contents to make way for construction of an office building called City House Charles.
Workers remove contents of Baltimore’s Grand Central nightclub | Ed Gunts | November 19, 2020 | Washington BladeWe are using our software, or any 3D software, to design and engineer those machines and it worked pretty well.
Leveraging collective intelligence and AI to benefit society | Jason Sparapani | November 18, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewIt’s got a pretty strong job market that is drawing people from other states.
How Georgia Turned Blue | Perry Bacon Jr. (perry.bacon@fivethirtyeight.com) | November 18, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
The room was prettily furnished, and Georgie had often accused herself of extravagance.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsThe trees are sometimes prettily arranged in alleys, but are planted far less for ornament than for use.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferIt is extremely delicate and prettily formed, and is distinguished by narrow dark-brown stripes along the back.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferShe stamped her foot prettily, imperiously, vexed at my refusal to go out of that weird place the way I had entered.
Valley of the Croen | Lee TarbellThe outside was very prettily painted for the occasion—Venus commemorating her birth from the ocean.
British Dictionary definitions for pretty
/ (ˈprɪtɪ) /
pleasing or appealing in a delicate or graceful way
dainty, neat, or charming
commendable; good of its kind: he replied with a pretty wit
informal, often ironic excellent, grand, or fine: here's a pretty mess!
informal lacking in masculinity; effeminate; foppish
Scot vigorous or brave
an archaic word for elegant
a pretty penny informal a large sum of money
sitting pretty informal well placed or established financially, socially, etc
a pretty person or thing
informal fairly or moderately; somewhat
informal quite or very
(tr often foll by up) to make pretty; adorn
Origin of pretty
1Derived forms of pretty
- prettily, adverb
- prettiness, 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
Other Idioms and Phrases with pretty
In addition to the idioms beginning with pretty
- pretty as a picture
- pretty much
- pretty penny, a
also see:
- in a fix (pretty pickle)
- kettle of fish, pretty
- sitting pretty
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse