beautiful

[ byoo-tuh-fuhl ]

adjective

1. having beauty; possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind:

   a beautiful dress;

   a beautiful speech.

   Synonyms: beauteous, fair, attractive, seemly, comely

   Antonyms: ugly

2. excellent of its kind:

   a beautiful putt on the seventh hole; The chef served us a beautiful roast of beef.

3. wonderful; very pleasing or satisfying.

noun

1. the beautiful,
   1. the concept of beauty.
   2. (used with a plural verb) beautiful things or people collectively:

      the good and the beautiful.

   3. the ideal of beauty:

      to strive to attain the beautiful.

interjection

1. wonderful; fantastic:

   You got two front-row seats? Beautiful!

2. extraordinary; incredible: used ironically:

   Your car broke down in the middle of the freeway? Beautiful!

beautiful

/ ˈbjuːtɪfʊl /

adjective

1. possessing beauty; aesthetically pleasing
2. highly enjoyable; very pleasant

   the party was beautiful

Derived Forms

• ˈbeautifulness, noun

Other Words From

• beauti·ful·ly adverb
• beauti·ful·ness noun
• un·beauti·ful adjective
• un·beauti·ful·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of beautiful¹

First recorded in 1520–30; beauty + -ful

Example Sentences

“I felt his music was complex, beautiful, harmonically and textually varied,” says Coppola, “and interesting.”

From Los Angeles Times

“When he tells her she’s so beautiful, I wanted her to look like the biggest movie star of all time,” said cinematographer Alice Brooks.

From Los Angeles Times

One person after another after another came up to me to complain about what appeared to be a glossy commercial filled with beautiful people, a beautiful mountain lion, beautiful houses, beautiful nature.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s a way to make the city more accessible, walkable and beautiful for the 2028 Olympics.

From Los Angeles Times

Erivo gets bonus points from Yeoh for holding her hand and calming her down with her “big beautiful eyes” when it came time to sing in the movie.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• alluring
• appealing
• attractive
• exquisite
• gorgeous
• handsome
• lovely
• magnificent
• pulchritudinous
• ravishing
• stunning

How Do You Spell Beautiful?

Spelling tips for beautiful

The spelling of beautiful is tricky: it has the triple vowel combination of e-a-u near the beginning as well as a vowel change near the end—the ending y in the base word beauty is changed to i with the addition of the adjective-forming suffix -ful. 

How to spell beautiful: Remember, “to be beautiful, be a you”—as in be-a-u. Then just add a t and an eyeful—as in i-ful. Here’s a helpful breakdown to help you remember: be-a-u-t-i-ful.

When To Use

What are other ways to say beautiful?

A person or thing that is beautiful possesses qualities that give great pleasure to see, hear, or think about. When should you use this adjective over handsome, lovely, or pretty? Find out on Thesaurus.com.