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pretty
[ prit-ee ]
adjective
- pleasing or attractive to the eye, as by delicacy or gracefulness:
a pretty face.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
- (of things, places, etc.) pleasing to the eye, especially without grandeur.
Synonyms:
- pleasing to the ear:
a pretty tune.
Synonyms:
- pleasing to the mind or aesthetic taste:
He writes pretty little stories.
Synonyms:
- (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.
noun
- Usually pretties. pretty ornaments, clothes, etc.
- a pretty person:
Sit down, my pretty.
adverb
- fairly or moderately:
Her work was pretty good.
Synonyms:
- quite; very:
The wind blew pretty hard.
- Informal. prettily.
verb (used with object)
- to make pretty; improve the appearance of (sometimes followed by up ):
to pretty oneself for a party;
to pretty up a room.
pretty
/ ˈɪɪ /
adjective
- 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.excellent, grand, or fine
here's a pretty mess!
- informal.lacking in masculinity; effeminate; foppish
- 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
noun
- a pretty person or thing
adverb
- informal.fairly or moderately; somewhat
- informal.quite or very
verb
- troften foll byup to make pretty; adorn
Usage Note
Derived Forms
- ˈٳپ, adverb
- ˈٳپԱ, noun
Other 51Թ Forms
- t· adverb
- t·Ա noun
- t· adjective
- un·t· adverb
- un·t·Ա noun
- ܲ·t adjective
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of pretty1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of pretty1
Idioms and Phrases
- sitting pretty, Informal.
- in an advantageous position.
- well-to-do; successful.
More idioms and phrases containing pretty
- in a fix (pretty pickle)
- kettle of fish, pretty
- sitting pretty
Example Sentences
In rescuing her from the operating table, he kills pretty much everyone in the place, including the doctor who claims to have devised said cure.
If what his Cabinet members are telling the press is an accurate reflection of his views, it's pretty clear that he's deeply deluded.
There are so many moments of necessary, and specific, and also pretty surprising, change.
While the data shows that millennials have experienced a pretty massive growth in net worth, much of this increase comes from two main sources: rising home values and stock market gains.
"When it went with the four of us I was pretty confident."
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Related 51Թs
When To Use
What are other ways to say pretty?
Something or someone that is pretty is pleasing to the eye. But calling someone pretty isn’t quite the same as calling them beautiful, handsome, or lovely. Find out why on .
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.
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