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Synonyms

lovely

American  
[luhv-lee] / ˈlʌv li /

adjective

lovelier, loveliest

  1. charmingly or exquisitely beautiful.

    a lovely flower.

  2. having a beauty that appeals to the heart or mind as well as to the eye, as a person or a face.

  3. delightful; highly pleasing.

    to have a lovely time.

  4. of a great moral or spiritual beauty.

    a lovely character.

noun

plural

lovelies

  1. Informal. a beautiful woman, especially a show girl.

  2. any person or thing that is pleasing, highly satisfying, or the like.

    Every car in the new line is a lovely.

adverb

  1. Nonstandard. very well; splendidly.

lovely British  
/ ˈlʌvlɪ /

adjective

  1. very attractive or beautiful

  2. highly pleasing or enjoyable

    a lovely time

  3. loving and attentive

  4. inspiring love; lovable

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. slang a lovely woman

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What are other ways to say lovely?

The adjective lovely describes people or things that are charmingly or exquisitely beautiful. How is it different from beautiful, handsome, and pretty? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.  

Other Word Forms

  • lovelily adverb
  • loveliness noun

Etymology

Origin of lovely

First recorded before 900; Middle English luvelich, Old English luflīc “amiable”; love + -ly

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Natalie said the response they had had to the workshops was "really lovely".

From BBC

She said it was "so lovely that anybody would bother to come up and chew the cud with you for a while"

From BBC

"I love the idea of them coming back with their kids, when it is a proper woodland, that they can enjoy - that's a lovely idea," he said.

From BBC

Meanwhile, he has referred to the war as “an excursion” and “a lovely stay,” yet he is also weighing a complex and risky mission to seize the regime’s uranium, the Journal reported.

From The Wall Street Journal

The elk had been especially lovely company, and it had given Clare an unusual pang of sadness to watch her leave.

From Literature

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.