# handsome

Pronunciation: say "HAN-suhm" /ˈhæn.səm/

## Adjective

1. Of a man or boy, attractive in a manly way, with a pleasing face and overall look.
   - Simple: Nice to look at in a manly way, used about men and boys.
   - _Their son had grown into a tall, handsome young man with his mother's dark eyes._
   - _He was handsomer than his brother but not nearly as charming._
2. Having a pleasing, attractive appearance, said of things as well as people.
   - Simple: Nice to look at, used about people and things.
   - _The shop sells handsome leather notebooks that make good gifts._
   - _The old bank is a handsome stone building on the corner of Main Street._
3. Ample or moderately large, typically said of a sum of money.
   - Simple: Quite large, usually about an amount of money.
   - _She sold the cottage three years later for a handsome profit._
   - _The senator won reelection by a handsome margin._
4. Of a woman, stately and statuesque, with a beauty that is masculine or otherwise commanding.
   - Simple: Beautiful in a strong, bold, or grand way, used about a woman.
   - _His aunt was a handsome woman, tall and broad-shouldered, with a commanding voice._
   - _At sixty she was still handsome, with a strong jaw and silver hair swept back from her face._
5. Good, fitting and well done, as a reply, gesture or result.
   - Simple: Good and right for the situation, done well.
   - _The losing candidate conceded in a handsome speech, thanking her opponent and urging her supporters to move on._
   - _The orchestra gave a handsome performance of the symphony, crisp and well judged from start to finish._
6. Having a generous or noble character.
   - Simple: Good-hearted and generous in the way you treat other people.
   - _It was handsome of her to share the credit with the whole team._
   - _Their old rival was handsome in defeat, shaking every hand and praising the winners._
7. Fine, clear, and bright, said of the weather. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: Clear, bright, and pleasant, used about the weather.
   - _We had handsome weather for the whole crossing._
   - _It turned into a handsome day, clear and bright once the morning fog lifted._

## Adjective

8. Dexterous or skillful, said of people, or handy and easy to manage, said of things. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Good with the hands, or easy to handle and use.

## Verb

9. To make someone or something handsome. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To cause a person or thing to become handsome.

## Origin

From Middle English handsum, hondsom, formed from hand + -some (compare Dutch handzaam, German Low German handsaam). It originally meant "easy to handle or use", which led to "suitable" and "apt, clever" in the mid 16th century, and from there to the current approving senses in the late 16th century.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/handsome (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).