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

Something happens to him where he looks at her, somehow she becomes beautiful, and his scars are gone.

From Salon

“Precious pieces of wood saved from other projects or found while hiking, ideas that came to us in the middle of the night and a desire to create beautiful, useful things.”

From Los Angeles Times

Erivo: I think the song is set in beautiful stages, so you have that.

From Los Angeles Times

Smith described it as “a beautiful collection of memory, love, joy and sadness — all of it pooled together in a singular experience.”

From Los Angeles Times

Yet as coral reef ecologist Alexandra Dempsey explored the atolls’ beautiful coral reefs in 2015, she nevertheless found signs of human pollution.

From Salon

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.