pretty
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- attractive, beautiful, bonny, charming, comely, fair, good-looking, lovely
[adverb]
Synonyms:
- fairly, kind of (informal), moderately, quite, rather, reasonably, somewhat

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Antonyms: unpretty
Related Idioms: pretty much
Related Words: darling, ducky, cunning, cute

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English Thesaurus: beautiful, good-looking, attractive, pretty, handsome, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. pret‧ty¹ S1 W3 /ˈprɪti/ adverb [+ adjective/adverb] spoken

1. fairly or more than a little:
I’m pretty sure he’ll say yes.
She still looks pretty miserable.

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In written English, people usually avoid pretty and use fairly instead:
The consequences of this are fairly obvious.

2. very:
Dinner at Luigi’s sounds pretty good to me.

3. pretty well/much almost completely:
He hit the ball pretty well exactly where he wanted it.
The guard left us pretty much alone.
They’re all pretty much the same.

4. pretty nearly (also pretty near American English) almost:
The shock of Pat’s death pretty near killed Roy.
⇒ be sitting pretty at sit(9)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. pretty² S2 W3 adjective (comparative prettier, superlative prettiest)
[Language: Old English; Origin: prættig 'tricky', from prætt 'trick']

1. a woman or child who is pretty has a nice attractive face:
a pretty little girl
Maria looks much prettier with her hair cut short.

2. something that is pretty is pleasant to look at or listen to but is not impressive:
a pretty dress
The tune is pretty.
What a pretty little garden!

3. not a pretty sight very unpleasant to look at – sometimes used humorously:
After a night’s drinking, Al was not a pretty sight.

4. not just a pretty face spoken used humorously to say that someone is intelligent, when people think this is surprising:
I’m not just a pretty face, you know!

5. come to a pretty pass old-fashioned used to say that a very bad situation has developed:
Things have come to a pretty pass, if you can’t say what you think without causing a fight.

6. cost a pretty penny old-fashioned to cost a lot of money

7. pretty as a picture old-fashioned very pretty
—prettily adverb:
Charlotte sang very prettily.
—prettiness noun [uncountable]

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

pretty
adj
VERBS be, look
ADV. exceptionally, extremely, ravishingly, really, strikingly, very, wonderfully | almost | quite, rather | undeniably

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

beautiful a beautiful woman or child has perfect good looks:
Grace Kelly was a very beautiful woman.
a beautiful baby
good-looking a good-looking person looks nice. Good-looking is very common in spoken English:
He’s a good-looking guy, but he’s a bit boring.
Do you think she’s good-looking?
attractive an attractive person looks nice, especially in a way that makes you feel sexually interested in them:
She’s a very attractive woman.
A lot of women find him attractive.
pretty a pretty girl or woman looks nice – used especially about a woman who has a nice face:
You look pretty with your hair down.
She has a very pretty face.
handsome a handsome man or boy looks nice – used especially about a man who has a nice face. Handsome is also sometimes used, especially in literature, to describe a woman who is good-looking and has a strong face:
He was tall, dark, and handsome.
She was a big, handsome woman.
gorgeous/stunning spoken extremely attractive. Gorgeous is used especially by women:
She thinks Brad Pitt is gorgeous.
You look absolutely stunning in that dress!
cute spoken nice to look at – used about animals, babies, children, and young adults:
a cute little puppy
She thinks you’re cute!
lovely especially British English spoken used when saying that someone looks very nice:
You look lovely tonight.
magnificent very big, beautiful, and impressive – used about buildings, objects, and views:
The Taj Mahal always looks magnificent.
a magnificent Persian carpet
There were magnificent views over the old city.
picturesque written pleasant to look at – used in written descriptions of towns, buildings, and places:
the picturesque harbour town of Castleton
Regensburg Cathedral occupies a picturesque position on the River Danube in Bavaria.
stunning/breathtaking extremely beautiful and impressive – used especially about views:
All around is a stunning view of Cape Town.
The landscape is breathtaking.
exquisite /ɪkˈskwɪzət, ɪkˈskwɪzɪt, ˈekskwɪ-/ used to describe things that have very beautiful small details, especially things that have been made with a lot of skill:
an exquisite piece of jewellery
an exquisite flower
an exquisite picture of a bird of paradise
elegant designed in a way that looks very attractive and has a lot of style:
an elegant Neo-Classical building
a long and elegant staircase

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

beautiful used to describe something that looks, feels, sounds etc so good that it gives you a lot of pleasure:
a beautiful tropical beach
a beautiful song
The weather was beautiful.
lovely especially British English spoken used when saying that something looks, feels, or sounds very nice:
What a lovely day!
a lovely voice
a lovely perfume
pretty pleasant to look at – often used about things that are not big or impressive:
a pretty little pink dress
a pretty village
attractive pleasant to look at. Attractive sounds more formal than pretty:
an attractive white-painted cottage with green shutters
an attractive city
magnificent very big, beautiful, and impressive – used about buildings, objects, and views:
The Taj Mahal always looks magnificent.
a magnificent Persian carpet
There were magnificent views over the old city.
picturesque written pleasant to look at – used in written descriptions of towns, buildings, and places:
the picturesque harbour town of Castleton
Regensburg Cathedral occupies a picturesque position on the River Danube in Bavaria.
stunning/breathtaking extremely beautiful and impressive – used especially about views:
All around is a stunning view of Cape Town.
The landscape is breathtaking.
exquisite /ɪkˈskwɪzət, ɪkˈskwɪzɪt, ˈekskwɪ-/ used to describe things that have very beautiful small details, especially things that have been made with a lot of skill:
an exquisite piece of jewellery
an exquisite flower
an exquisite picture of a bird of paradise
elegant designed in a way that looks very attractive and has a lot of style:
an elegant Neo-Classical building
a long and elegant staircase

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

rather/quite especially British English more than a little, but less than very. British people often use these words before adjectives in conversation. In many cases they do not intend to change the meaning – it is just something that people say:
She seemed rather unhappy.
It's rather a difficult question.
It’s getting quite late.
Malaria is rather common in this area.
fairly rather. Fairly is used in both British and American English:
The test was fairly easy.
It’s a fairly long way to the next town.
pretty spoken rather. Pretty is more informal than the other words and is used in spoken English:
Her French is pretty good.
We’re in a pretty strong position.
reasonably to a satisfactory level or degree:
He plays reasonably well.
Let's just say that I am reasonably confident we'll win.
moderately formal more than a little, but not very:
Her family was moderately wealthy.
The food was moderately good, but not as good as the food in the other restaurants.
Use a moderately high heat.
a moderately difficult climb
somewhat formal fairly or to a small degree. Somewhat is used especially when talking about the size or degree of something. It is often used in comparatives:
The celebrations were somewhat larger than last year’s.
He looked somewhat irritated.
a somewhat surprising decision

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

pretty
ˈprɪtɪ
See: sitting pretty

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲