handsome

hand·some

adjective \ˈhan(t)-səm\

hand·som·erhand·som·est

Definition of HANDSOME

1

chiefly dialect : appropriate, suitable

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

: having a pleasing and usually impressive or dignified appearance

— hand·some·ly adverb

— hand·some·ness noun

Examples of HANDSOME

1. It was a handsome house situated on a large lot.
2. The book includes many handsome illustrations.
3. I predict that someone tall, dark, and handsome is going to come into your life.
4. He inherited a handsome fortune.
5. He made a handsome profit on the sale of the house.
6. The book is a handsome tribute to a great poet.
7. 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
8. 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
9. 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
10. 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

Origin of HANDSOME

Middle English handsom easy to manipulate

First Known Use: 1530

Related to HANDSOME

Synonyms

classy, courtly, fine, graceful, elegant, majestic, refined, stately, tasteful

Antonyms

dowdy, graceless, inelegant, styleless, tasteless, unfashionable, unhandsome, unstylish

Related Words

august, baronial, gallant, glorious, grand, heroic (also heroical), imposing, lavish, luxurious, magnificent, monumental, noble, ornate, proud, regal, rich, royal, splendid, superb; artful, genteel, polished, sophisticated; classic, conservative, exquisite, quiet, restrained, simple, understated; aristocratic, patrician; à la mode (also a la mode), chic, fashionable, in, modish, posh, sharp, sleek, smart, snappy, stylish, swagger, swank (or swanky); affected, grandiose, ostentatious, pretentious, recherché

Near Antonyms

cheesy, coarse, crude, flamboyant, flashy, garish, gaudy, glitzy, grotesque, loud, raffish, splashy, tacky, tawdry, ticky-tacky (also ticky-tack); rough-edged, rough-hewn, rude, trashy, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unpolished, unrefined, vulgar

See Synonym Discussion at beautiful

Rhymes with HANDSOME

ransom