quaint

American  

[kweynt] / kweɪnt /

adjective

quainter, quaintest

1. having an old-fashioned attractiveness or charm; oddly picturesque.

   a quaint old house.

   Synonyms:

   archaic, antiquated

2. strange, peculiar, or unusual in an interesting, pleasing, or amusing way.

   a quaint sense of humor.

   Synonyms:

   uncommon, curious

   Antonyms:

   ordinary

3. skillfully or cleverly made.

4. Obsolete. wise; skilled.

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quaint British  

/ kweɪnt /

adjective

1. attractively unusual, esp in an old-fashioned style

   a quaint village

2. odd, peculiar, or inappropriate

   a quaint sense of duty

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Other Word Forms

• quaintly adverb
• quaintness noun

Etymology

Origin of quaint

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English queinte, from Old French, variant of cointe “clever, pleasing,” from Latin cognitus “learned, known,” past participle of cognōscere “to learn, become acquainted”; cognition

Explanation

Quaint means strange and unusual in an old-fashioned and charming way. It's a word you'd use to describe a little store that sells tea cozies and antique tea services, or your grandmother's habit of calling the radio the "wireless." There is a commonly used sarcastic sense of quaint — when something is run down or shabby and you're trying to say something positive, you might substitute "How...quaint" for "How...interesting." In Middle English, this adjective meant "clever" or "cunning." Its origin is Old French queinte, cointe, from Latin cognitus "known," from cognōscere "to learn."

Example Sentences

The council approved a zoning change and unveiled a plan to build 120 apartments for an estimated $91 million in the quaint town center, a stone’s throw from several gourmet restaurants.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

Cities are squalid crime hives that need to be tamed or abandoned in the Sheridanverse, whereas small towns and Western vistas are quaint canvases fertile with possibility.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026

Perched on the edge of the rugged Yorkshire moors that inspired Emily Bronte to write her masterpiece "Wuthering Heights", the quaint village of Haworth has long been a place of literary pilgrimage.

From Barron's • Feb. 28, 2026

But neither was their three-night stay there last April a quaint camping experience.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026

We find quaint houses with rusted tricycles in the front yards.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Related Words

• bizarre
• curious
• fanciful
• funny
• laughable
• peculiar
• unusual
• weird
• whimsical