pretty

pretty
—prettily, adv. —prettiness, n. —prettyish, adj.
/prit"ee/, adj., prettier, prettiest, n., pl. pretties, adv., v., prettied, prettying.
adj.
1. pleasing or attractive to the eye, as by delicacy or gracefulness: a pretty face.
2. (of things, places, etc.) pleasing to the eye, esp. without grandeur.
3. pleasing to the ear: a pretty tune.
4. pleasing to the mind or aesthetic taste: He writes pretty little stories.
5. (often used ironically) fine; grand: This is a pretty mess!
6. Informal. considerable; fairly great: This accident will cost him a pretty sum.
7. Archaic or Scot. brave; hardy.
n.
8. Usually, pretties. pretty ornaments, clothes, etc.
9. a pretty person: Sit down, my pretty.
adv.
10. fairly or moderately: Her work was pretty good.
11. quite; very: The wind blew pretty hard.
12. Informal. prettily.
13. sitting pretty, Informal.
a. in an advantageous position.
b. well-to-do; successful.
v.t.
14. to make pretty; improve the appearance of (sometimes fol. by up): to pretty oneself for a party; to pretty up a room.
[bef. 1000; ME prati(e), pratte, prettie cunning, gallant, fine, handsome, pretty; OE praettig, pretti cunning, deriv. of praett a trick, wile (c. D part, pret trick, prank, ON prettr trick, prettugr tricky)]
Syn. 1. See beautiful. 2-4. pleasant. 10. somewhat.
Ant. 1. ugly.
Usage. The qualifying adverb PRETTY, meaning "fairly or moderately" has been in general use since the late 16th century. Although most common in informal speech and writing, it is far from restricted to them, and often is less stilted than alternatives such as relatively, moderately, and quite.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Synonyms:
, , , (without dignity or grandeur), , / , , / , , (used ironically, meaning the opposite) / , , , , , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pretty — Pret ty, a. [Compar. {Prettier}; superl. {Prettiest}.] [OE. prati, AS. pr[ae]ttig, pr[ae]tig, crafty, sly, akin to pr[ae]t, pr[ae]tt, deceit, trickery, Icel. prettugr tricky, prettr a trick; probably fr. Latin, perhaps through Celtic; cf. W.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pretty — [prit′ē] adj. prettier, prettiest [ME prati < OE prættig, crafty < prætt, craft, trick] 1. pleasing or attractive in a dainty, delicate, or graceful way rather than through striking beauty, elegance, grandeur, or stateliness 2. a) fine;… …   English World dictionary

  • pretty — 1. Pretty is used as an adverb with the meaning ‘fairly, moderately’, as in The performance was pretty good / He did pretty much as he liked. The adverb corresponding to the usual meaning of pretty is prettily: She always dresses so prettily. 2.… …   Modern English usage

  • pretty — ► ADJECTIVE (prettier, prettiest) 1) attractive in a delicate way without being truly beautiful. 2) informal used ironically to express displeasure: he led me a pretty dance. ► ADVERB informal ▪ to a moderately high degree; fairly. ► NOUN (pl …   English terms dictionary

  • Pretty — Pret ty, adv. In some degree; moderately; considerably; rather; almost; less emphatic than very; as, I am pretty sure of the fact; pretty cold weather. [1913 Webster] Pretty plainly professes himself a sincere Christian. Atterbury. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pretty — [adj] attractive appealing, beauteous, beautiful, boss*, charming, cheerful, cher*, comely, cute, dainty, darling, delicate, delightful, dishy*, dreamboat*, elegant, eyeful*, fair, fine, foxy*, good looking, graceful, handsome, looker, lovely,… …   New thesaurus

  • pretty — index attractive Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • pretty — bonny, comely, fair, *beautiful, lovely, handsome, good looking, beauteous, pulchritudinous Analogous words: charming, attractive, alluring (see under ATTRACT): dainty, delicate, exquisite (see CHOICE adj) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • pretty — 1 / prIti/ adverb (+ adj/adv) spoken 1 fairly, though not completely: I m pretty sure he ll say yes. | Life on the farm was pretty tough. see rather 2 very: It s pretty hard to see how we ll manage. 3 pretty well also pretty much very nearly;… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • pretty — pret|ty1 W3S2 [ˈprıti] adv [+ adjective/adverb] spoken 1.) fairly or more than a little ▪ I m pretty sure he ll say yes. ▪ She still looks pretty miserable. see usage note ↑rather 2.) very ▪ Dinner at Luigi s sounds pretty good to me …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • pretty — pret|ty1 [ prıti ] adverb MAINLY SPOKEN *** 1. ) fairly: My TV s getting pretty old now. Todd looks pretty tired. 2. ) very: The weather is pretty awful, isn t it? pretty good: I can see they ve done a pretty good job of it. pretty much/well/near …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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