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a beautiful day
a perfect day
a gorgeous day
a nice day
a pretty day
beautiful music
elegant music
pleasant music
pretty music
lovely music
wonderful music
beautiful eyes
amazing eyes
pretty eyes
beautiful scenery
picturesque scenery
pristine scenery
spectacular scenery
breathtaking scenery
exquisite scenery
a beautiful baby
an adorable baby
a cute baby
a precious baby
a lovely baby
a gorgeous baby

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective beautiful differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of beautiful are comely, fair, handsome, lovely, and pretty. While all these words 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

How are the words comely and handsome related as synonyms of beautiful?

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

the comely grace of a dancer

When can fair be used instead of beautiful?

The words fair and beautiful are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, fair suggests beauty because of purity, flawlessness, or freshness.

fair of face

When could handsome be used to replace beautiful?

While in some cases nearly identical to beautiful, handsome suggests aesthetic pleasure due to proportion, symmetry, or elegance.

a handsome Georgian mansion

How do lovely and beautiful relate to one another?

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

a lovely melody

In what contexts can pretty take the place of beautiful?

The words pretty and beautiful can be used in similar contexts, but pretty often applies to superficial or insubstantial attractiveness.

a painter of conventionally pretty scenes

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of beautiful All the holes in the brick will look beautiful with backlighting. Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 14 Feb. 2025 Suay makes a beautiful patchwork quilt from recycled materials in a variety of colors. Dave Schilling, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2025 Bright and beautiful murals can be found on garage doors, under bridges and on the side of old silos. Adam Tamburin, Axios, 14 Feb. 2025 The concerto is an image of a beautiful world disintegrating. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for beautiful 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beautiful
Adjective
  • Aimee Lou Wood had a lovely bunch of coconuts while filming season three of The White Lotus.
    Nicholas Rice, People.com, 15 Feb. 2025
  • The red switches aren't too loud but are still clicky, and there's a lovely knob for volume control.
    Brenda Stolyar, WIRED, 15 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • One pole of the action is the Green Dolphin Hotel, where Hezekiah and Alec finally find a place to land, and where Hezekiah’s ability to speak Chinese, a legacy from a Chinese grandmother, endears him to the proprietor, Mr. Lao (Jason Tobin, quiet and wonderful); some Elephants are around as well.
    Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2025
  • Parker Hall The Best MagSafe Accessories for Your New iPhone The weird, wonderful world of MagSafe accessories can make your smartphone feel modular.
    Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Fluid performance, gorgeous and vibrant displays, and advanced multitasking software, this phone's got them!
    Shubham Yewale, PCMAG, 11 Feb. 2025
  • This gorgeous 1935 convertible is a big reason why.
    Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Lucas Bergvall and Dejan Kulusevski are excellent at carrying the ball and driving into space.
    Jay Harris, The Athletic, 17 Feb. 2025
  • With its affordable price, this coverlet is an excellent value for the quality.
    Rebecca Jones, Southern Living, 17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Jang Theo was incredibly head over heels for her and showered her with gifts and cute gestures.
    Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 11 Feb. 2025
  • Her younger sister Rumi (who happens to be one half of a twin) matched her fly, wearing a black and white Amiri varsity jacket, light wash blue jeans, and Amiri’s cute Ma Canvas camera case.
    Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • This makes an awesome gift for any Apple device user who has cords and charging docks littering their nightstand.
    Clint Davis, People.com, 7 Feb. 2025
  • To be able to give back to somebody who's given so much, was awesome.
    Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • This is a classic movie problem, the kind of too-neat hangup that has to be vaulted over on the way toward happily ever after — so, naturally, Ally has a classic meet-cute at a coffee shop with a handsome stranger named Jay (Mason Gooding) whose issue line up perfectly with hers.
    Alison Willmore, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
  • The plans, handsome blueprints, were spread out on the table and as Recorder Welch read the specifications, Mr. Morgan made the necessary explanations.
    Contributed Content, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Having a fabulous area rug can instantly upgrade your home’s decor with little effort, and high-quality carpets don’t have to be uber expensive.
    Lauren Taylor, Southern Living, 16 Feb. 2025
  • Orange Lutheran has 6-foot-8 pitcher Gary Morse and fabulous power hitter Josiah Hartshorn.
    Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near beautiful

Cite this Entry

“Beautiful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beautiful. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on beautiful

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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