pretty (ˈprɪtɪ
)
Definitions
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 often ironic excellent, grand, or fine ⇒
here's a pretty mess!
- informal lacking in masculinity; effeminate; foppish
- Scottish vigorous or brave
- an archaic word for elegant
- See a pretty penny
- See sitting pretty
noun
- a pretty person or thing
adverb
- informal fairly or moderately; somewhat
- informal quite or very
verb
- (tr) up to make pretty; adorn
Alternative Forms
ˈprettily adverb ˈprettiness nounWord Origin
Old English prættig clever; related to Middle Low German prattich obstinate, Dutch prettig glad, Old Norse prettugr cunningSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
attractive,
appealing,
beautiful,
sweet,
lovely,
charming,
fair,
fetching,
good-looking,
cute,
graceful,
bonny,
personable,
comely,
prepossessing,
fit,
Translations
- British English:
pretty
If you describe someone, especially a girl, as pretty, you mean that they look nice and are attractive in a delicate way.She is a shy, pretty girl with enormous blue eyes.ˈprɪtɪ ADJECTIVE She is a shy, pretty girl with enormous blue eyes.
- Spanish:
bonito
adj bonita
- French:
joli
adj
- German:
hübsch
adj
- Chinese: 漂亮的 adj
- Arabic: لَطِيف adj
- Portuguese: bonito adj bonita
- Russian: хорошенький adj хорошенькая
- Croatian: ljepušan adj ljepušna
- Czech: hezký adj
- Danish: køn adj
- Dutch: knap adj
- Finnish: kaunis adj
- Greek: ωραίος adj ωραία
- Italian: carino adj carina
- Japanese: きれいな no_posp
- Korean: 예쁜 adj
- Norwegian: pen adj
- Polish: ładny adj ładna
- Brazilian Portuguese: bonito adj bonita
- European Spanish:
bonito
adj bonita
- Swedish: söt adj
- Thai: สวย adj
- Turkish: hoş adj
- Vietnamese: xinh adj
- British English:
pretty
You can use pretty before an adjective or adverb to mean `quite' or `rather'.I'm pretty good at swimming.ˈprɪtɪ ADVERB I'm pretty good at swimming.
- Spanish:
bastante
adv
- French:
plutôt
adv
- German:
ziemlich
adv
- Chinese: 相当 adv
- Arabic: إِلى حَدٍّ مَعْقُول adv
- Portuguese: razoavelmente adv
- Russian: достаточно adv
- Croatian: prilično adv
- Czech: poměrně adv
- Danish: ret adv
- Dutch: behoorlijk adv
- Finnish: melko adv
- Greek: αρκετά adv
- Italian: abbastanza adv
- Japanese: かなり adv
- Korean: 상당히 adv
- Norwegian: ganske adj
- Polish: całkiem adv
- Brazilian Portuguese: razoavelmente adv
- European Spanish:
bastante
adv
- Swedish: ganska adv
- Thai: พอใช้ได้ adv
- Turkish: bayağı adv
- Vietnamese: khá adv
Usage examples
But over the past few months, she'd given me a description, a pretty detailed intimate description, I mean.
, CASCADES - THE DAY OF THE DEAD (2001)Would have liked to finish the match myself, but we still look in pretty good shape.
Country Life (2004)I was pretty confident she would win today the way she was working," said Weld.
Irish Times (2002)But it is also sincere, as is pretty much all Amis's material.
Glasgow Herald (2001)As we got closer to shore we started to feel pretty good about ourselves and what we'd survived.
, FATAL STORM (2001)