DictionaryAI

beautiful

SayBYOO-ti-fuhl/ˈbju.tɪ.fəl//ˈbjuːtɪ.fəl/

5 meanings of beautiful

Practice

  1. 1
    eye-pleasingadjective
    Very pleasing to look at, listen to, or otherwise experience through the senses.

    Snow had settled on the pines, leaving the whole valley beautiful.

    The architect filled the lobby with beautiful arches and stained glass.

    UsageCompares as more beautiful, most beautiful. For men, handsome or good-looking is more usual.

    Similarlovely, gorgeous, stunning, attractive, pretty

    Oppositeugly, hideous, unattractive

  2. 2
    admirableadjective
    Impressing the mind or moral sense through fitness and elegance rather than mere appearance.

    Her solution to the puzzle was beautiful, reaching the answer in a single step.

    The quiet way he cared for his ailing neighbor struck us as beautiful.

    Similarelegant, exquisite, admirable, lovely

    Oppositeinelegant, clumsy, ugly

  3. 3
    adjective
    Regarded with strong liking or approval; very much to one's taste.

    My favorite pizza place now delivers until midnight, which is just beautiful.

    After this month, a long weekend with nothing on the calendar would be beautiful.

    Similarwonderful, lovely, great, marvelous

    Oppositeterrible, awful, horrible

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    nouncountable
    A person who possesses beauty; also used as a term of address when speaking directly to someone.

    Good morning, beautiful, breakfast is already on the table.

    "Morning, beautiful," he said, setting a cup of coffee on the nightstand as his wife slowly woke up.

    UsageMostly in direct address, with no article: Hey, beautiful! Warm and personal.

    Similarbeauty, stunner, babe

    Note

    In that position it stops describing someone and starts calling to them, working as a compliment and an endearment at once.

  2. 5
    adjective
    Used after a noun for emphasis, as in the house beautiful, or ironically, as a comment on something that has gone wrong.

    The magazine promoted its vision of the house beautiful, full of handmade furniture and fresh flowers.

    So the printer jams the moment guests arrive, beautiful.

    Similargreat, perfect, lovely, wonderful

    Note

    Here the adjective moves behind its noun, as in the house beautiful, and the unusual order gives it a heightened, almost title-like ring. Irony uses the word too: tacked on after a mishap, a lone beautiful means the opposite of praise. Tone and context decide which reading is meant. Placed before the noun, the word returns to the ordinary visual meaning.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • A standalone exclamation is distinct from a postpositive adjective, which follows the noun or pronoun it modifies. en.wikipedia.org
    • Beautiful before a noun can have nonvisual meanings, as in beautiful sonata. en.wiktionary.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of beautiful apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English bewteful or beautefull, meaning attractive to the eye, formed from "beauty" plus the suffix "-ful". In this sense it largely replaced the Old English word fæġer, which gave us "fair".

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

  • Beautiful derives from Middle English bewteful or beautefull, meaning attractive to the eye. en.wiktionary.org
  • The word is formed from beauty and the suffix -ful. en.wiktionary.org
  • Beautiful largely displaced Old English fæġer in the sense of attractive to the eye. en.wiktionary.org
  • Modern English fair descends from Old English fæġer. en.wiktionary.org