1
as in dude
a man extremely interested in his clothing and personal appearance
a downtown dance club with lots of pretty boys in attendance
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stud
a physically attractive man
as a musical performer, he has yet to prove that he's more than just another pretty boy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretty boy
At Hartford Stage, Rafael Jordan plays Sterling as a smooth-talking pretty boy who seems unwilling to get his hands dirty.
—
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 4 Feb. 2025
Scott’s Tom Ripley was a clean break from that of Matt Damon; instead of a petulant pretty boy seized by envy and lust, this Ripley was older (Scott is in his late forties) and scarier, a lonesome manipulator with a murderous gleam in his eye.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
How to adopt: Interested adopters can meet pretty boy Pepper at the Arizona Humane Society’s South Mountain location.
—The Republic, The Arizona Republic, 21 Jan. 2023
Austin Butler’s version of Elvis is a sulky pretty boy with smokey-eye makeup, loud silk shirts, and lips the color and texture of bubblegum.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 24 June 2022
Brave, brilliant, ugly Cyrano yearns for Roxane (Evelyn Miller), who has fallen in love with pretty boy Christian (Eben Figueiredo), a soldier who has just enlisted in Cyrano’s tough-talking military regiment.
—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2022
John Boyega plays Dahomey’s young king, Ghezo, a benevolent if somewhat pretty boy leader who takes on soft diplomacy while deploying his Agojie to collect the heads of his enemies.
—Tribune News Service, cleveland, 16 Sep. 2022
This was the last time Leo would try to headline a big-budget movie still looking like the pretty boy of Titanic; after this, his next four films were for either Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 29 Dec. 2021
To compare his 1955 Newman, a pretty boy whose smile is a quick squiggle, with the Newman of 2002, his features still handsome but etched by the passage of a half-century, is an epitome in two drawings of Hirschfeld’s art.
—Terry Teachout, WSJ, 6 Apr. 2021
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 4 Feb. 2025
Scott’s Tom Ripley was a clean break from that of Matt Damon; instead of a petulant pretty boy seized by envy and lust, this Ripley was older (Scott is in his late forties) and scarier, a lonesome manipulator with a murderous gleam in his eye.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
How to adopt: Interested adopters can meet pretty boy Pepper at the Arizona Humane Society’s South Mountain location.
—The Republic, The Arizona Republic, 21 Jan. 2023
Austin Butler’s version of Elvis is a sulky pretty boy with smokey-eye makeup, loud silk shirts, and lips the color and texture of bubblegum.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 24 June 2022
Brave, brilliant, ugly Cyrano yearns for Roxane (Evelyn Miller), who has fallen in love with pretty boy Christian (Eben Figueiredo), a soldier who has just enlisted in Cyrano’s tough-talking military regiment.
—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2022
John Boyega plays Dahomey’s young king, Ghezo, a benevolent if somewhat pretty boy leader who takes on soft diplomacy while deploying his Agojie to collect the heads of his enemies.
—Tribune News Service, cleveland, 16 Sep. 2022
This was the last time Leo would try to headline a big-budget movie still looking like the pretty boy of Titanic; after this, his next four films were for either Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 29 Dec. 2021
To compare his 1955 Newman, a pretty boy whose smile is a quick squiggle, with the Newman of 2002, his features still handsome but etched by the passage of a half-century, is an epitome in two drawings of Hirschfeld’s art.
—Terry Teachout, WSJ, 6 Apr. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretty boy
Noun
-
One thing Lewis has never been accused of is being dumb — or, probably, being a good dude.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
26 May 2025
-
To work with Sly [Stallone] now, that dude is a beast.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 May 2025
Noun
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Prices for the lower-end items range from $70 for silver stud earrings that look like tiny lotus flowers to $800 for the 18-inch Showers Necklace in 22-karat gold vermeil adorned with small moonstones and pearls.—
Rachel Felder,
New York Times,
20 May 2025
-
Designers are also using metal hardware like studs to add a western-meets-boho vibe to denim.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
19 May 2025
Noun
-
Olsen sparked engagement buzz when, in the summer of 2019, she was spotted rocking a dark brown band while out on a movie and dinner date with her beau in Los Angeles.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
People.com,
23 May 2025
-
Pre-race beau Primož Roglič looked strong on the stage two time-trial, missing out on victory by less than a second, and wearing the maglia rosa (pink jersey) on two separate occasions.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
Noun
-
Fashion and dandyism enthusiasts will immediately recall writings about historical fashion figure and dandy Beau Brummell, an arbiter of men’s style in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.—
Tonya Blazio-Licorish,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2019
-
The original dandy—most famously embodied by figures like Beau Brummell in 18th-century Britain—was a man whose primary purpose was to stand out by being impeccably groomed and dressed.—
Ty Gaskins,
Vogue,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Wildlife watchers can spot bobcats, foxes, otters, alligators, turtles and manatees, with more than 150 bird species flying among mangrove, cypress, palmetto and pine trees.—
Ruffin Prevost,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
-
The Algerian Sahara is also home to several animals like the desert fox, wild sheep, jackal and gazelle.—
Angela Dansby,
CNN Money,
14 May 2025
Noun
-
Making Murderbot, who mostly would prefer to wear a mask, an undeniable hunk raises questions.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
12 May 2025
-
And the list is stacked with 11 Hallmark hunks and festive favorites.—
Breanne L. Heldman,
People.com,
9 May 2025
Noun
-
Its Southern Alps are where Hollywood films fantasy flicks, skiers slide and Americans flock like sheep to get an easy eyeful.—
Christopher Cameron,
Robb Report,
17 May 2025
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Even a glance at the headlines these days will give you an eyeful of negativity.—
Harry Kraemer,
Forbes.com,
5 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pretty boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretty%20boy. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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