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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 Registration includes admission to the beautiful gardens before or after class. Joe Rassel, Orlando Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2025 Creators on Etsy can take the fabric of a pet’s collar and turn it into jewelry, and there are even ways to turn their ashes or fur into beautiful keepsake memorials. Annemarie Dooling, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025 The chrome fixtures across the yacht, along with stainless pop-up cleats and beautiful paint, point to its luxe origins. Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 21 Jan. 2025 As the smoke began to clear after two days of intense fire, Pacific Palisades appeared more like a moonscape of destruction than an upscale neighborhood known for its ocean views, beautiful vistas and celebrity denizens. Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for beautiful 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beautiful
Adjective
  • Here, instead of the mustard that’s included in many classic potato salad recipes, sour cream, vinegar, and briny pickles team up to lend a lovely amount of tartness to cut through the richness of the potatoes, eggs, and mayo.
    Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Jan. 2025
  • December is a lovely time to be in Lisbon for the Christmas markets, the largest of which is Wonderland Lisboa, which also has attractions like ice skating and a Ferris wheel.
    Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Away from the bottle-poppers of Mykonos, but hardly removed from the season’s social buzz, the white-washed, flat-roofed villas that wrap the cliffs of Santorini are wonderful places to while away a summer.
    Christopher Cameron, Robb Report, 27 Jan. 2025
  • The melty cheese and crispy bread are a wonderful combination.
    Nick Siano, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Taking in gorgeous winter sunsets snuggled under blankets.
    Miles Walls, Southern Living, 18 Jan. 2025
  • Your skin deserves the very best from head to toe: Now watch Madelyn Cline's gorgeous, glowy 10-Minute Beauty Routine: Don't forget to follow Allure on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, or subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on all things beauty.
    Allure, Allure, 17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Just what is an excellent choice to protect your Mac?
    PCMAG, PCMAG, 24 Jan. 2025
  • Both teams are excellent at converting third downs.
    Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Guests have free access to the hotel’s cute alpine style spa with sauna, steam room and outdoor hot tub.
    Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
  • Through cute memes and witty jokes, both groups ridiculed the TikTok ban.
    Jianqing Chen, The Conversation, 19 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • He’s been awesome this season and will be impossible to replace.
    Dom Luszczyszyn, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
  • The waist still stays in place, and the bra is still awesome.
    Dana Leigh Smith, Glamour, 16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Image Image Hayakawa became well known for her sensitive portraits, including a suite of paintings from the early 1930s featuring a handsome man presumed to be her boyfriend at the time.
    Aruna D’Souza, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
  • Lincoln Forest Press coffee tasting journal: $7.99 Encourage them to savor and reflect on their coffee experiences with this handsome faux leather tasting journal by Lincoln Forest Press.
    Jené Luciani Sena, Fox News, 15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Howard found fabulous freshman Jeremiah Smith streaking down the right sideline and hit him perfectly in stride for a 57-yard gain to put the Buckeyes at the Notre Dame 10 with two minutes left.
    Ralph D. Russo, The Athletic, 20 Jan. 2025
  • In a recent episode, a viewer sent Zarco her Mimi’s lemon squares recipe from 1992, along with a note and some fabulous photos of her relative.
    Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 16 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near beautiful

Cite this Entry

“Beautiful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beautiful. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on beautiful

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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