quaint
Americanadjective
-
having an old-fashioned attractiveness or charm; oddly picturesque.
a quaint old house.
- Synonyms:
- archaic , antiquated
-
strange, peculiar, or unusual in an interesting, pleasing, or amusing way.
a quaint sense of humor.
- Antonyms:
- ordinary
-
skillfully or cleverly made.
-
Obsolete. wise; skilled.
adjective
-
attractively unusual, esp in an old-fashioned style
a quaint village
-
odd, peculiar, or inappropriate
a quaint sense of duty
Other Word Forms
- quaintly adverb
- quaintness noun
Etymology
Origin of quaint
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English queinte, from Old French, variant of cointe “clever, pleasing,” from Latin cognitus “learned, known,” past participle of cognōscere “to learn, become acquainted”; cognition
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.
They did not look quaint or musty but decidedly contemporary, even stylish.
The present trend—longer lives and lower birthrates—will make Ford’s labor-force problem seem quaint as we move through the next two to three decades.
In a country best known for quaint houses and tidy landscapes, politics can be messy.
A pivotal town in the Civil War that hosted numerous major battles, Gettysburg is a quaint town with no shortage of legends, which lend life to its more metaphysical residents.
From MarketWatch
We realize it’s quaint these days to talk about the Founders, but they granted an unlimited pardon power because they anticipated at least a modicum of presidential restraint.
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.
