comely

adjective

come·​ly ˈkəm-lē 

 also  ˈkōm-,

 or  ˈkäm-

comelier; comeliest

1

: pleasurably conforming to notions of good appearance, suitability, or proportion

Going in with him, they observed that all was neat and comely …

—Willa Cather

2

: having a pleasing appearance : not homely or plain

a comely young woman

comeliness noun

Did you know?

Comely Has a Broad and Beautiful History

Although comely is now typically used to describe the appearance of human beings, it was once used more broadly of other appealing things, such as fine clothing. Comely can be traced back to Old English words variously meaning "glorious," "lively," or "fine." If you are looking to pretty up your prose or poetry with additional words meaning "beautiful," English is well-supplied with them. Aside from beautiful itself, we have lovely, handsome, pretty, fair, good-looking, gorgeous, ravishing, and even well-favored.

Synonyms

• aesthetic
• esthetic
• aesthetical
• esthetical
• attractive
• beauteous
• beautiful
• bonny [chiefly British]
• bonnie
• cute
• drop-dead
• fair
• fetching
• good
• good-looking
• goodly
• gorgeous
• handsome
• knockout
• likely
• lovely
• lovesome
• pretty
• ravishing
• seemly
• sightly
• stunning
• taking
• well-favored

Choose the Right Synonym for comely

beautiful, lovely, handsome, pretty, comely, fair mean exciting sensuous or aesthetic pleasure.

beautiful applies to whatever excites the keenest of pleasure to the senses and stirs emotion through the senses.

beautiful mountain scenery

lovely is close to beautiful but applies to a narrower range of emotional excitation in suggesting the graceful, delicate, or exquisite.

a lovely melody

handsome suggests aesthetic pleasure due to proportion, symmetry, or elegance.

a handsome Georgian mansion

pretty often applies to superficial or insubstantial attractiveness.

a painter of conventionally pretty scenes

comely is like handsome in suggesting what is coolly approved rather than emotionally responded to.

the comely grace of a dancer

fair suggests beauty because of purity, flawlessness, or freshness.

fair of face

Examples of comely in a Sentence

a brood of comely children that any parent would be proud to claim

Recent Examples on the Web

The translator need only find the right verbal stones and install them in comely sentences, in cadences that mirror the author’s own, and Mishima’s voice will emerge. —Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2024

This road car with racetrack roots emerged as a shot across the bow of Jaguar after its comely E-type was unveiled at the 1961 Geneva Motor show. —Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 12 Apr. 2024

Here is the story of a comely girl, a mulatto, Margaret Toogood, Maggy. —Anna Deavere Smith, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2023

Chin picks up a slide in comely tones of gray, brown, and off-white. —Karen Wright, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Middle English comly, alteration of Old English cȳmlic glorious, from cȳme lively, fine; akin to Old High German kūmig weak

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

comely

adjective

come·​ly ˈkəm-lē 

comelier; comeliest

: pleasing to the eye : pretty, attractive

comeliness noun