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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 The grounds are beautiful, the setting is tranquil, and the ceremonies held here every Memorial Day are filled with heartfelt patriotism. Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 22 May 2025 Churches aren’t just beautiful buildings that uplift New York. New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 10 May 2025 The property has beautiful minimalist, modern design with pops of natural wood accents and stunning views of the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains. Kimberley Mok, Travel + Leisure, 9 May 2025 Demi and Colman coming together for the first time to bring Jane Anderson’s beautiful script that illuminates the human condition to life, will be magic. Matt Grobar, Deadline, 9 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for beautiful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beautiful
Adjective
  • Why the lovely Mehri falls for such a loser — Hamid is one of the least charming grooms in recent memory — can only by explained by the lack of options available to her.
    Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 23 May 2025
  • The scoring sequence followed a lovely Bobrovsky save on a shorthanded odd-man rush — the Cats firing on all cylinders.
    Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 23 May 2025
Adjective
  • My daughter came to live with us for nine wonderful years.
    Jack Lang, New York Times, 27 May 2025
  • Your wonderful dog may or may not hanker to break routine and go on holiday.
    John Oseid, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
Adjective
  • And then of course the most perfect, gorgeous Schiaparelli black dress shows up.
    Ingrid Vasquez, People.com, 29 May 2025
  • On the surface, all the Wisteria neighbors are living the dream: beautiful homes, gorgeous families, shiny SUVs in the driveway.
    Glenn Garner, Deadline, 29 May 2025
Adjective
  • Give your wooden nickel to the mixologist, take your pick between La Babia, an excellent margarita, or Three Emmas, grab a book off the shelf, and take a seat.
    Mae Hamilton, Travel + Leisure, 24 May 2025
  • During informational interviews, asking for ideas of great places to keep an eye on is an excellent way to add to your list.
    Rebecca Fraser-Thill, Forbes.com, 24 May 2025
Adjective
  • The knotted fabric straps have an elevated look, making these cute enough to wear with your favorite sundresses and skirts.
    Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 1 June 2025
  • In addition to pool and beach looks, these slides look cute with baggy jeans and graphic tank tops, flowy midi dresses, and two-piece linen sets.
    Jessie Quinn, StyleCaster, 28 May 2025
Adjective
  • He’s been awesome and the rest of the guys have been awesome.
    Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 28 May 2025
  • There was an awesome sequence where Finn Balor missed the Coup de Grace, followed by a stomp on Balor by Rollins and a Helluva Kick on Rollins by Zayn.
    Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
Adjective
  • Here the handsome yellow and gray Palazzo del Capitolo building is close to Jana’s Café, where tank topped and tattooed visitors sipped rather than chugged espressos.
    Tom Mullen, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025
  • These escapades are set in 1950 and have a handsome vintage color palette of white, gray, green, metal and wood.
    Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
Adjective
  • This is a fabulous day for romance and warm, loving relations with others, because the Moon is in your sign, lined up with Venus in your sign, which is also close to Neptune in your sign.
    Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 23 May 2025
  • The Verhaeghe-Bennett-Tkachuk line was fabulous Thursday.
    Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 23 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Beautiful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beautiful. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on beautiful

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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