handsome

adjective

hand·​some ˈhan(t)-səm How to pronounce handsome (audio)
handsomer; handsomest
1
: having a pleasing and usually impressive or dignified appearance
2
: moderately large : sizable
a painting that commanded a handsome price
3
: marked by skill or cleverness : adroit
4
: marked by graciousness or generosity : liberal
handsome contributions to charity
5
chiefly dialectal : appropriate, suitable
handsomely adverb
handsomeness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for handsome

beautiful, lovely, handsome, pretty, comely, fair 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

lovely is close to beautiful but applies to a narrower range of emotional excitation in suggesting the graceful, delicate, or exquisite.

a lovely melody

handsome suggests aesthetic pleasure due to proportion, symmetry, or elegance.

a handsome Georgian mansion

pretty often applies to superficial or insubstantial attractiveness.

a painter of conventionally pretty scenes

comely is like handsome in suggesting what is coolly approved rather than emotionally responded to.

the comely grace of a dancer

fair suggests beauty because of purity, flawlessness, or freshness.

fair of face

Examples of handsome in a Sentence

He was a handsome man, in a big-screen way, with the deep-set eyes and boyish smile and even the lumpy, interesting complexion of a Harrison Ford or a Robert Redford. Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 10 May 2004
An Alexandrian statue of a ruggedly handsome man with gaunt features like Caesar's exploits the translucent glow of large-grained marble from the distant Greek island of Thasos, combining Roman attention to the texture of aging skin with the abstract elegance of Egyptian-style almond eyes and chiseled cheekbones. Ingrid D. Rowland, New Republic, 1 & 8 Apr. 2002
The Galaxy's first stop, St. Lucia's capital city of Castries, has been destroyed by so many fires that travel writers dismiss it as holding little interest. There I came upon a handsome three-story brick building that had clearly withstood the city's century of conflagrations. It was, of all things, a Carnegie Library, built by that American millionaire's beneficence in 1916. Carla Davidson, American Heritage, November 1999
With bonds and utility stocks under seige, many people who depend on these traditional income investments are taking a new look at real estate investment trusts. What they're finding is that "REITs" generate handsome dividend yields of 6% or more while offering the possibility of capital gains. That's not bad at a time when 10-year Treasury notes, which currently yield about 7%, come with the worry that rising interest rates will cause their value to plummet. Lynn Asinof, Wall Street Journal, 3 June 1994
It was a handsome house situated on a large lot. The book includes many handsome illustrations. I predict that someone tall, dark, and handsome is going to come into your life. He inherited a handsome fortune. He made a handsome profit on the sale of the house. The book is a handsome tribute to a great poet.
Recent Examples on the Web Deposit Bonuses – 5/5 Newcomers are greeted with a handsome welcome package of up to €2,500 in bonuses across their first three deposits, starting with a 200% match on up to €500. Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2024 His opponent, Senator Caleb Boggs, had won seven straight elections, but Biden saw a path for himself—playing up his youth, showing off his handsome family, flattering Boggs with patronizing grace. Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 Five years later, a similar challenge faces Takatoshi (Hokuto Matsumura), a handsome if surly young man whose unpredictable panic attacks have forced him to park his high-flying career aspirations and take a far less impressive job at a company that makes science and astronomy kits for children. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 3 Mar. 2024 Many are handsome, remarkable achievements that have met local needs and strengthened fraying social ties. Sam Lubell, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024 In contrast, the newer addition, Ozy, is much more traditional, with plaster carvings, zellij mosaics, and handsome wooden doors. Nicola Chilton, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Feb. 2024 How to adopt: This handsome boy is living with one of the amazing foster homes of Friends for Life and will be at their adoption center, located at 952 W. Melody Ave in Gilbert, on Saturdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. until adopted. The Republic, The Arizona Republic, 23 Feb. 2024 When handsome stranger Easy (Melton) appears, Misty’s 11-year-old son devises a plan to get rid of his brutish father so that his mother can marry Easy instead. Clarissa Cruz, Peoplemag, 22 Feb. 2024 There’s a large dining room and handsome patio, but the seating is limited by how many servers have volunteered. Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'handsome.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English handsom easy to manipulate

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 5

Time Traveler
The first known use of handsome was in 1530

Dictionary Entries Near handsome

Cite this Entry

“Handsome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/handsome. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

handsome

adjective
hand·​some ˈhan(t)-səm How to pronounce handsome (audio)
1
: fairly large : sizable
a handsome fortune
2
: marked by generosity or graciousness
a handsome contribution
3
: having a pleasing and usually impressive or dignified appearance
a handsome young lad
handsome old buildings
handsomely adverb
handsomeness noun

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