beautiful
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
That one likes very much.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
byootuhfuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbjutəfəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Possessing beauty, impressing the eye; attractive.
That one likes very much.
Impressing with charm in an intellectual or moral way, through inherent suitability or elegance.
Affording pleasure to any of the senses, especially that of hearing; delightful.
Used emphatically or ironically, after the noun it qualifies.
noun
Someone who is beautiful. Can be used as a term of address.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Possessing beauty, impressing the eye; attractive.
Used this way, beautiful is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It suits reflective writing more than quick conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Slightly formal
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Beautiful or graceful
- Usage feel
- Reflective and slightly elevated
Nearby words
- stunning , more casual, better suited to speech than writing
- fine , more casual, better suited to speech than writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use beautiful
- “The sunset over the mountains was truly beautiful this evening.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Relationships
Similar in idea, different in strength, tone or register.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
The act of making something more beautiful.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.