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beautiful

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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English

Etymology

From Middle English bewteful, beautefull (attractive to the eye, beautiful), equivalent to beauty + -ful. In this sense, largely displaced Old English fæġer (whence fair).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) enPR: byo͞oʹtĭ-fəl, IPA(key): /ˈbjuːtɪ.fəl/, /ˈbjuːtɪ.fʊl/
  • Audio (UK):(file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈbju.tɪ.fəl/, [bju.ɾə.fəl]
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Hyphenation: beau‧ti‧ful

Adjective

beautiful (comparative more beautiful, superlative most beautiful)

  1. Possessing beauty, impressing the eye; attractive. [from 1520s]
    Anyone who has ever met her thought she was absolutely beautiful.
    There's a beautiful lake by the town.
    • 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 214:
      “Is Olga de Coude very beautiful?” she asked. And Tarzan laughed and kissed her again. “Not one-tenth so beautiful as you, dear,” he said.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
      It's rather like a beautiful Inverness cloak one has inherited. Much too good to hide away, so one wears it instead of an overcoat and pretends it's an amusing new fashion.
    • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain):
      It is a beautiful kitchen! — It is beautiful.
    1. Used emphatically or ironically, after the noun it qualifies. [from 1850s]
      the house beautiful
  2. That one likes very much.
    He was a beautiful person; he would drop everything to help you.
    You've done a beautiful thing today.
  3. Affording pleasure to any of the senses, especially that of hearing; delightful. [from 1860s]
    Beethoven's most beautiful sonata
    It's beautiful outside, let's go for a walk.
    These carnations smell beautiful but those daffodils smell funny.
  4. Impressing with charm in an intellectual or moral way, through inherent suitability or elegance. [from 1580s]
    The skater performed a beautiful axel.

Usage notes

  • When used to refer to human appearance, the word is more commonly used for women, with handsome being more common for men, though neither is incorrect. For a man, beautiful could connote a more delicate or androgynous appearance.
  • The comparatives beautifuler and beautifuller, and the superlatives beautifulest and beautifullest have also occasionally been used, but are nonstandard.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

References

Noun

beautiful (plural beautifuls)

  1. Someone who is beautiful. Can be used as a term of address.
    The man was faithful to his wife, ignoring the many blonde beautifuls who surrounded him wherever he went.
    Hey, beautiful!
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