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 think it’s beautiful that we can continue this in his name.

From Los Angeles Times

Unlike the cold and dark ocean surrounding Britain, “in Hong Kong the sea is so shiny, because there are so many buildings… I didn’t realise how beautiful our city is”.

From BBC

Agriculture was a beautiful technology for 7,000 years back in the Bronze Age.

From Salon

Bombaa also complains about how ordinary Nairobians, often scrabbling to make a living, have to pay to enter some of their city’s most beautiful locations such as the arboretum or Karura forest.

From BBC

“Ironic” is the fifth of 10 songs in Act 1, and its beautiful reversal hunts the hunters.

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.