pretty

pretty

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of pretty in English

English Online Dictionary. What means pretty‎? What does pretty mean?

English

Alternative forms

  • pooty, purdy (nonstandard)
  • purty (informal)
  • pratty (dialectal)
  • prettie, pretie (obsolete)

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.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈpɹɪti/, (Indic) /ˈprɪʈi/
  • (US, dialectal) IPA(key): /ˈpɝti/
  • (US, rare) IPA(key): /ˈpɹʊti/
  • (US, dated or humorous) IPA(key): /ˈpɔɪti/
  • (Indic, spelling pronunciation, proscribed) IPA(key): /ˈprɛʈi/
  • Rhymes: -ɪti

Adjective

pretty (comparative prettier, superlative prettiest)

  1. Pleasant to the sight or other senses; attractive, especially of women or children. [from 15th c.]
    Coordinate term: handsome
    Near-synonym: dainty
  2. Of objects or things: nice-looking, appealing. [from 15th c.]
  3. (often derogatory) Fine-looking; only superficially attractive; initially appealing but having little substance; see petty. [from 15th c.]
  4. (UK, sometimes derogatory) Effeminate.
  5. Cunning; clever, skilful. [from 9th c.]
  6. (dated) Moderately large; considerable. [from 15th c.]
  7. (dated) Excellent, commendable, pleasing; fitting or proper (of actions, thoughts etc.). [from 16th c.]
  8. (ironic) Awkward, unpleasant, bad. [from 16th c.]
  9. (programming, of code) Matching commonly accepted principles of formatting and syntax, for the sake of readability.

Antonyms

  • ugly

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Japanese: プリティー (puritī), プリティ (puriti), プリチー (purichī)

Translations

Further reading

  • Pretty in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Adverb

pretty (not comparable)

  1. Somewhat, fairly, quite; sometimes also (by meiosis) very.
  2. (dialect) Prettily, in a pretty manner.

Usage notes

  • When particularly stressed, the adverb pretty serves almost to diminish the adjective or adverb that it modifies, by emphasizing that there are greater levels of intensity.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

pretty (plural pretties)

  1. A pretty person; a term of address to a pretty person.
  2. Something that is pretty.

Derived terms

  • play pretty
  • stink pretty

Verb

pretty (third-person singular simple present pretties, present participle prettying, simple past and past participle prettied)

  1. To make pretty; to beautify

Derived terms

  • pretty up

Anagrams

  • Pettry

Bookmark
share
WebDictionary.net is an Free English Dictionary containing information about the meaning, synonyms, antonyms, definitions, translations, etymology and more.

Related Words

-

Browse the English Dictionary

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

License

This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.