tasteful
Americanadjective
adjective
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indicating good taste
a tasteful design
-
a rare word for tasty
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tasteful
Explanation
Tasteful things are elegant, appropriate, or aesthetically pleasing. You may prefer to hang a single, tasteful holiday wreath on your door — while your neighbor decorates with a somewhat less tasteful 12-foot inflatable Santa surrounded by hot pink reindeer. If you've got good manners, your behavior is tasteful. Having an eye for clothing and decor that's lovely (rather than tacky, ugly or disturbing in some way) is tasteful too. This adjective started came into use in the 17th century. It originally meant "tasting good" but it evolved to mean "having good taste."
Vocabulary lists containing tasteful
What If It's Us
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Honestly Elliott
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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.
It’s also her most stylistically coherent collection of songs since 2015’s “Pageant Material,” with a strong sense of place and tasteful genre experiments that stitch it all together.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
It’s an oasis for arts, tasteful wealth, and Southern manners in one of the reddest parts of the country.
From Slate • May 4, 2026
Old Navy’s is somewhat tasteful and tongue-in-cheek, offering a cable-knit cerulean sweater with a charming red high-heel logo, tote bags and tops with a few of the movie’s key phrases printed on them.
From Salon • Apr. 20, 2026
Listing images reveal a tasteful interior, with a neutral, elegant palette used throughout the home, which is filled with natural light.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 20, 2026
A parlor with simple but tasteful furniture, things she had seen in the white shops of South Carolina.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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.
