English Explanatory Dictionary

pretty

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Pleasant to the sight or other senses; attractive, especially of women or children.
  2. Of objects or things: nice-looking, appealing.
  3. Fine-looking; only superficially attractive; initially appealing but having little substance; see petty.
  4. Effeminate.
  5. Cunning; clever, skilful.
  6. Moderately large; considerable.
  7. Excellent, commendable, pleasing; fitting or proper (of actions, thoughts etc.).
  8. Awkward, unpleasant, bad.
  9. Matching commonly accepted principles of formatting and syntax, for the sake of readability.
adv
  1. Somewhat, fairly, quite; sometimes also (by meiosis) very.
  2. Prettily, in a pretty manner.
noun
  1. A pretty person; a term of address to a pretty person.
  2. Something that is pretty.
verb
  1. To make pretty; to beautify
name
  1. A surname.
name
  1. Alternative form of Preeti; A female given name from Sanskrit.

Pronunciation

/ˈpɹɪt.i/ [ˈpɹɪɾ.i] en-us-pretty.ogg /ˈpɜɹ.ti/ /ˈpɹʊt.i/ /ˈpɔɪ.ti/ /ˈpɹət.i/ [ˈpɹə̞ɾ.i] /ˈprɪʈ.i/ [pɾɪʈ(ː)iˑ]

Word forms

pretty prettier prettiest pooty purdy purty pratty prettie pretie pretties prettying prettied Prettys

Etymology

From Middle English prety, preti, praty, prati, from Old English prættiġ (“tricky, crafty, sly, cunning, wily, astute”), from Proto-West Germanic *prattug, from Proto-Germanic *prattugaz (“boastful, sly, slick, deceitful, tricky, cunning”), corresponding to prat (“trick”) + -y. Doublet of pratty. Cognate with Dutch prettig (“nice, pleasant”), Low German prettig (“funny”), Icelandic prettugur (“deceitful, tricky”). For the semantic development, compare canny, clever, cute.

Synonyms

dainty

Antonyms

ugly

Derived words

don't worry your pretty little head just another pretty face none-so-pretty not a pretty sight not just another pretty face not just a pretty face prettification prettiful prettify prettikins prettiness pretty as a picture pretty as a speckled pup Pretty Beach pretty boy pretty-by-night pretty-faced wallaby pretty horsebreaker prettyish prettyism pretty pass pretty penny pretty pictures Pretty Pine pretty please pretty police pretty Polly pretty-pretty pretty-print pretty-printer pretty privilege prettysome purdy sitting pretty unpretty who's a pretty boy then PDQ pertineer Pretty Good Privacy pretty much pretty-spoken pretty well play pretty stink pretty pretty up unprettied

Translations

Bulgarian: красив Catalan: bonic Maore Comorian: -zuri Finnish: sievä Finnish: viehättävä French: joli Greek: όμορφος Italian: carino Kapampangan: masanting Khmer: ល្អ Latvian: glīts Latvian: skaists Mirandese: guapo Persian: قشنگ Persian: زیبا Persian: خوشگل Plautdietsch: schmock Portuguese: bonito Portuguese: belo Scottish Gaelic: snog Scottish Gaelic: brèagha Scottish Gaelic: lurach Scottish Gaelic: maiseach Spanish: bonito Ottoman Turkish: كوزل Volapük: jönik
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