pretty
/prĭt′ē/
adjective
- Pleasing or attractive in a graceful or delicate way. synonym: beautiful.
- Clever; adroit. a pretty maneuver.
- Very bad; terrible. in a pretty predicament; a situation that has reached a pretty pass.
Urban Dictionary
urbandictionary.com › define.php
Urban Dictionary: Pretty
February 27, 2019 - ... Flag Get the Pretty mug. ... Ex.- That girl is pretty. ... Flag Get the Pretty mug. ... Expressed when a dude/chick is actually in love with the subject, rather than sexy, hot, ect.
Eastern Illinois University
eiu.edu › vehicle › the-definition-of-pretty
The Definition of Pretty
It’s the tears in her eyes and the senile lilt in her voice when she says, “You’re so pretty. Can I hug you?” You remember when she didn’t think you were so pretty; she thought you were just a whore. Pretty is when she dies that winter and your makeup never smears because you can’t cry for a woman who never loved you.
Collins Dictionary
collinsdictionary.com › dictionary › english › pretty
PRETTY definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
13 meanings: 1. pleasing or appealing in a delicate or graceful way 2. dainty, neat, or charming 3. commendable; good of its.... Click for more definitions.
Published March 20, 2018
Videos
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Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › thesaurus › pretty
PRETTY Synonyms: 444 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster Thesaurus
Some common synonyms of pretty are beautiful, comely, fair, handsome, and lovely. While all these words mean "exciting sensuous or aesthetic pleasure," pretty often applies to superficial or insubstantial attractiveness.
Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › dictionary › pretty
PRETTY Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus · Choose the Right Synonym for pretty · beautiful, lovely, handsome, pretty, comely, fair mean exciting sensuous or aesthetic pleasure. beautiful applies to whatever excites the keenest of pleasure ...
Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › english › pretty
PRETTY | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
PRETTY definition: 1. quite, but not extremely: 2. almost: 3. pleasant to look at, or (especially of girls or women…. Learn more.
Encyclopedia Britannica
britannica.com › dictionary › pretty
Pretty Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary
◊ Someone who is not just a/another pretty face or more than (just) a pretty face is attractive but also has other good qualities, such as intelligence.
Vocabulary.com
vocabulary.com › dictionary › pretty
Pretty - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com
Use the word pretty to describe something with a delicate and pleasant appearance. Something that’s pretty is less powerful and intimidating than something that’s beautiful, the way a pretty floral raincoat is less intimidating than a beautiful film star.
English-Language Thoughts
englishlanguagethoughts.com › 2017 › 10 › 04 › pretty-pretty-pretty-good
Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good – English-Language Thoughts
October 4, 2017 - I’ve used the song ‘I feel pretty’ as a class activity about adjectives. The last line is ‘I’m in love with a pretty wonderful boy’.
Longman
ldoceonline.com › dictionary › pretty
pretty | meaning of pretty in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE
—prettiness noun [uncountable]Examples from the Corpuspretty• A very long time ago, she must have been pretty.• Then she added, My sister will be even prettier.• Nancy is younger than I am and much prettier.• She has a pretty face.• pretty flowers• A pretty girl like you should have a boyfriend.• Maureen's really pretty, isn't she?• Their pretty lace design is repeated on the side tables, lamps and blanket box.• They had an aquarium with lots of pretty little fish.• I felt really emotional as I gazed at her, realising how fast my pretty little girl was growing up.• And
Dictionary.com
dictionary.com › browse › pretty
PRETTY Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
PRETTY definition: pleasing or attractive to the eye, as by delicacy or gracefulness. See examples of pretty used in a sentence.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/words › how did "pretty" come to mean "sort of" or "somewhat?"
r/words on Reddit: How did "pretty" come to mean "sort of" or "somewhat?"
October 28, 2024 -
How was your day?
Pretty good.
How or why did this happen to this word which originally meant beautiful, pleasing to the eye, etc?
Top answer 1 of 14
50
From what I can gather, this is what’s called a “conversion word.” Where the word itself (its “form”) doesn’t change, but the word’s part of speech does. Before the mid 1500s, pretty (also spelled pretie, prety, and prettie) was only an adjective. By end of the century, it started to be used as an adverb (the usage you’re describing) as well. Per the OED, one use of pretty as an adjective meant “considerable, sizable. A pretty many” (meaning a good many, or a lot). It was used this way from the 1400s on. In the mid to late 1500s it shifted. There’s a use from 1577: “Berlady tis prety good meate.” And then in 1598 a usage that’s definitely connected to the one you’re talking about: “Boccace is prettie hard, yet understood: Petrarche harder but explaned.” It was likely “converted” verbally and then the written word caught up. I know that’s not the most complete answer, but hopefully it’s satisfying enough? I’m just a word nerd who recently discovered most public library cards provide online access to the Oxford English Dictionary, so if any experts see this and know I’ve gotten something wrong, feel free to correct me! :) Edited for grammar and clarity
2 of 14
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Hmm yes, I'd like know too
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › us › definition › american_english › pretty_2
pretty adjective - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced American Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com
When you describe someone as lovely, you are usually showing that you also have a feeling of affection for them. good-looking (of a person) pleasant to look at, often in a sexual way:She arrived with a very good-looking man.
Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › learner-english › pretty
PRETTY | meaning - Cambridge Learner's Dictionary
PRETTY definition: 1. quite, but not extremely: 2. almost: 3. If a woman or girl is pretty, she is attractive: . Learn more.
Oxford English Dictionary
oed.com › dictionary › pretty_adj
pretty, adj., n., & int. meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English Dictionary
There are 20 meanings listed in OED's entry for the word pretty, four of which are labelled obsolete.
YourDictionary
yourdictionary.com › home › dictionary meanings › pretty definition
Pretty Definition & Meaning | YourDictionary
Pretty definition: Pleasing or attractive in a graceful or delicate way.
Top answer 1 of 5
6
As FumbleFingers says, this is a pretty old use, going back to Early Modern English:
Pretty (pri•ti) adv. Forms: see prec. [The adj. in adverbial use.]
1. To a considerable extent, considerably; in a fair or moderate degree, fairly, moderately, tolerably; [...]
1598 FLORIO Dict. Ep. Ded. 3 Boccace is prettie hard, yet understood: Petrarche harder but explained. —OED 1
(I offer this OED 1 citation rather than the earlier one reproduced by FumbleFingers because I am not convinced that the use in the earlier citation is adverbial.)
Pretty has a complicated history, as you may see from the OED 1 entry which immediately precedes the link above: from cunning, artful to clever, skilful to ‘a general epithet of admiration or appreciation... fine, pleasing, proper’, and so forth, leading to the main modern sense ‘having beauty without majesty or stateliness’; but the origin of this adverbial use clearly lies in OED 1 sense 5 for the adjective:
5. Considerable in number, quantity, or extent, as in a pretty deal, while, way, etc.; also a pretty many = a good many; ...
OED 1 gives citations for this use dating from c. 1485 down to 1861, but marks it as ‘Now arch. or dial.’
I am surprised you did not find this in any dictionary; I found it in the first three online dictionaries I checked, Collins, Oxford, and Merriam-Webster. All three post definitions for the adverb after those for the adjective.
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Perhaps it has to do with French influence after the Norman conquest from the expression "près de" (near) since it means "close to" or "right up to"? I have NO evidence of this. Does anyone? This just came to mind.
Reverso
dictionary.reverso.net › english-definition › pretty
PRETTY - Definition & Meaning - Reverso English Dictionary
1 adj If you describe someone, especially a girl, as pretty, you mean that they look nice and are attractive in a delicate way. She's a very charming and very pretty girl. ♦ prettily adv She smiled again, prettily.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/englishlearning › what does means "pretty" and how can i use it?
r/EnglishLearning on Reddit: What does means "pretty" and how can i use it?
August 12, 2025 -
Edit: What does "pretty" mean ? :)
Thank you!
Top answer 1 of 5
34
Firstly you probably meant to say "What does 'pretty' mean, and how can I use it". Pretty is an adjective that means visually attractive. There is a famous movie called Pretty Woman. Flowers are often described as pretty. It's similar to 'beautiful' but perhaps not quite so intense. As a secondary meaning 'pretty' can be used as an adverb, It's an intensifier, but less strong that 'very'. A runner who is pretty fast can probably beat their buddies in a race, but isn't going to make it to the Olympics.
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9
"Pretty" can also act as an intensifier that's a bit less than "very". "That's pretty cool" or "I'm pretty sure that's not where it goes." "Pretty much" also means "almost", as in, "Pretty much the entire school was in the auditorium that morning," or, "This is pretty much the only thing I have to do."
Wiktionary
en.wiktionary.org › wiki › pretty
pretty - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Damned by the Socialists as "traitors to the working class," its leaders were decried by Tories as "faceless peddlers of politics with a pretty little trinket for every taste." ... Cunning; clever, skilful. ... In the end, however, it was a very pretty shot, right across the chasm; killed first fire, and the brute fell headlong into the brook […] .