Main Entry: ²aesthetic

Variant(s): also esthetic

Function: noun

Date: 1822

1 plural but sing or plural in constr : a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste and with the creation and appreciation of beauty
2 : a particular theory or conception of beauty or art : a particular taste for or approach to what is pleasing to the senses and especially sight <modernist aesthetics> <staging new ballets which reflected the aesthetic of the new nation — Mary Clarke & Clement Crisp>
3 plural : a pleasing appearance or effect : beauty <appreciated the aesthetics of the gemstones>