having beauty; possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind: a beautiful dress; a beautiful speech.
2.
excellent of its kind: a beautiful putt on the seventh hole; The chef served us a beautiful roast of beef.
Synonyms 1. comely, seemly, attractive, fair, beauteous. Beautiful, handsome, lovely, pretty refer to a pleasing appearance. A person or thing that is beautiful has perfection of form, color, etc., or noble and spiritual qualities: a beautiful landscape, a beautiful woman.Handsome often implies stateliness or pleasing proportion and symmetry: a handsome man. That which is lovely is beautiful but in a warm and endearing way: a lovely smile.Pretty implies a moderate but noticeable beauty, especially in that which is small or of minor importance: a pretty child.
1520s, from beauty + -ful. Beautiful people "the fashionable set" first attested 1964 in (where else?) "Vogue." House Beautiful is from "Pilgrim's Progress," where it is a proper name of a place
mod. very satisfying; excellent. : Man, this place is beautiful! You got your own sink and toilet right in the room and good strong bars to keep the riffraff out.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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