Thomas Chandler Haliburton
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The Unlikely Evolution of Cute
Cute is a word whose meaning has gone a thorough historical transformation. There is no argument about cute’s derivation: it is a shortening of acute (and was sometimes actually spelled ‘cute). Acute has meant “clever, shrewd” since Shakespeare’s time and has had a set of other meanings as well, but it has never been defined as “attractive or pretty.” The contraction cute first appears in the early 18th century, but only a century later does it begin to take on its distinctive modern meaning; even after 1900 children were still being called cute as a compliment to their intelligence. (Compare the contemporaneous word cunning, with its strikingly similar ambiguity.) A few years into the century, we start to see the word—finally!—in descriptions of puppies and kittens. But the original sense hasn’t completely vanished; in such sentences as “Don’t get cute with me,” cute has nothing to do with adorable sweetness.
Examples of cute in a Sentence
Alex Beggs, Bon Appetit Magazine, 25 Apr. 2026
Russell Wilson gives his wife Ciara a cute kiss on the hand on the red carpet at The Devil Wears Prada 2 world premiere in New York City on April 20.
—Katie Hill, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026
Someone says the rats are actually cute — what’s your honest response?
—Zach Schiffman, Curbed, 24 Apr. 2026
Nearby Hakone makes for a lovely excursion, home to centuries-old onsen, cute shopping streets, winding mountain roads, lakes and shrines.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cute
Cite this Entry
“Cute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cute. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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