Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective comely differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of comely are beautiful, fair, handsome, lovely, and pretty. While all these words mean "exciting sensuous or aesthetic pleasure," comely is like handsome in suggesting what is coolly approved rather than emotionally responded to.

the comely grace of a dancer

When is it sensible to use beautiful instead of comely?

The words beautiful and comely can be used in similar contexts, but beautiful applies to whatever excites the keenest of pleasure to the senses and stirs emotion through the senses.

beautiful mountain scenery

When would fair be a good substitute for comely?

Although the words fair and comely have much in common, fair suggests beauty because of purity, flawlessness, or freshness.

fair of face

When might handsome be a better fit than comely?

In some situations, the words handsome and comely are roughly equivalent. However, handsome suggests aesthetic pleasure due to proportion, symmetry, or elegance.

a handsome Georgian mansion

How do lovely and beautiful relate to one another, in the sense of comely?

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

a lovely melody

Where would pretty be a reasonable alternative to comely?

The meanings of pretty and comely largely overlap; however, 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 comely Connecticut-raised Troy’s debut novel, Floating, imagines a dinky, dusty town in Arizona where its comely protagonist, Ruby, falls in love with her husband’s estranged, cowboy brother. Hazlitt, 4 May 2022 Chin picks up a slide in comely tones of gray, brown, and off-white. Karen Wright, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019 The comely stars, who are excellent at trolling each other online, are already parents to daughters James, 4, and Inez, 2. Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2019 Furthermore, the plant is topped by comely flowers, which in time proudly adorned the button-holes of no less than Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, in their day intentionally marketing the potato to a then-skeptical proletariat. Bill St. John, The Denver Post, 9 Oct. 2019 See All Example Sentences for comely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for comely
Adjective
  • Why is Glen Powell so determined to hide his handsome face?
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The brassy fanfare of mariachi music was first played in the region’s rural reaches and popularized in Guadalajara’s handsome plazas.
    David Shortell, Travel + Leisure, 28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The research team also highlighted that sodium chemistries are attractive, yet sodium solid electrolytes show limited room-temperature ionic conductivity.
    Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Oh, and home attendance ranked 28th of 30 teams, so evidently the product still wasn’t attractive enough.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Then something really beautiful happens.
    Tom Smyth, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
  • The fish was a beautiful, rich color and had great flavor, but the pieces were uneven in shape and size, with some of them clearly cut from the center of the fish and some from the thinner ends.
    Alaina Chou, Bon Appetit Magazine, 30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The desserts are quite lovely (the cookies and cream cheesecake was my personal favorite), and each sandwich is just as delicious as the next.
    Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Reader Vicki Casey from Huntersville, North Carolina, shared this lovely recipe created by her thrifty mother-in-law that uses the juice leftover from canned pineapple to make a beautiful pie.
    Josh Miller, Southern Living, 26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Rumors about the Only Murders in the Building star's nuptials with Benny Blanco being this weekend turned out to be 100-percent true, and as soon as a few beautiful photos of the cute couple were green-lighted to be shared with the eager public, fans were double-tapping with tears in their eyes.
    Marci Robin, Allure, 27 Sep. 2025
  • The set comes in moody neutrals like gray, indigo, cream, and white, and even arrives in a cute storage tote.
    Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Some of those quality dollars for those systems are available in pretty real time.
    Alexis Kayser, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 2025
  • This pretty doormat is crafted with natural coconut coir material, which adds some warmth as well as character to the entryway.
    Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The animation styles, varying from episode to episode, are all dynamic and gorgeous, paying homage to both a classic anime style and Star Wars' own more wry feeling.
    Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Gomez is seen wearing a gorgeous white gown, and Blanco looked dapper in a black suit and bowtie.
    Sara Vallone, Miami Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • There’s a charming bit of irony in watching one of the most prolific and successful producers in the music industry fumble with his audio output.
    Stephen Daw, Billboard, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Catriona, the charming young heiress to a vast oil fortune, and her two year old son Adam, were brutally kidnapped at gunpoint outside a fish and chip shop in Fife.
    Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Comely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/comely. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.

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