To save this word, you'll need to log in.
love·ly | \ ˈləv-lē 
\
\lovelier; loveliest
Definition of lovely
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : delightful for beauty, harmony, or grace : attractive She looks lovely in that dress.
3 : eliciting love by moral or ideal worth
A lovely woman who loves him for himself, not for his money.
lovely
noun plural lovelies
Definition of lovely (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : a beautiful woman
2 : a lovely object
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from lovely
Adjective
lovelily \ ˈləv-lə-lē \ adverb
\ adverbloveliness \ ˈləv-lē-nəs \ noun
\ nounSynonyms & Antonyms for lovely
Synonyms: Adjective
- A-OK,
- A1,
- awesome,
- bang-up,
- banner,
- beautiful,
- blue-chip,
- blue-ribbon,
- boffo,
- bonny
- (also bonnie)
- [chiefly British],
- boss
- [slang],
- brag,
- brave,
- bully,
- bumper,
- capital,
- choice,
- classic,
- cool
- [slang],
- corking,
- crackerjack,
- cracking,
- dandy,
- divine,
- dope
- [slang],
- down
- [slang],
- dynamite,
- excellent,
- fab,
- fabulous,
- famous,
- fantabulous
- [slang],
- fantastic,
- fine,
- first-class,
- first-rate,
- first-string,
- five-star,
- four-star,
- frontline,
- gangbusters
- (also gangbuster),
- gilt-edged
- (or gilt-edge),
- gone
- [slang],
- grand,
- great,
- groovy,
- heavenly,
- high-class,
- hot,
- hype
- [slang],
- immense,
- jim-dandy,
- keen,
- marvelous
- (or marvellous),
- mean,
- neat,
- nifty,
- noble,
- number one
- (also No. 1),
- numero uno,
- out-of-sight
- [slang],
- par excellence,
- peachy,
- peachy keen,
- phat
- [slang],
- prime,
- primo
- [slang],
- prize,
- prizewinning,
- quality,
- radical
- [slang],
- righteous
- [slang],
- sensational,
- slick,
- splendid,
- stellar,
- sterling,
- superb,
- superior,
- superlative,
- supernal,
- swell,
- terrific,
- tip-top,
- top,
- top-notch,
- top-of-the-line,
- top-shelf,
- topflight,
- topping
- [chiefly British],
- unsurpassed,
- wizard
- [chiefly British],
- wonderful
Antonyms: Adjective
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of lovely in a Sentence
Adjective
She was wearing a lovely dress.
a lovely bouquet of flowers
The song has a lovely melody.
The hotel has a lovely view.
We enjoyed a lovely dinner.
a singer with a lovely voice
Their children have lovely manners.
How lovely of you to come!
It was lovely to have you here! Noun
A chorus line of young lovelies danced on the stage.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Meanwhile, Patrolman Drake's shopping for produce and enjoying a day off with his lovely wife — until Ennis shows up.
—
Matt Cabral, EW.com, "Perry Mason recap: Paul Drake delivers a new clue with some serious bite," 6 July 2020 Signs point the way to Umbrella Falls, a small but lovely waterfall that cascades down a rocky slope on the upper reaches of the East Fork Hood River.
—
oregonlive, "See a Mount Hood waterfall, hike across ski runs on the Umbrella Falls hike," 4 July 2020 Or just skip them; the salad will still look and taste lovely.
—
Sunset Magazine, "19 Recipes to Try This July," 3 July 2020 Nantucket’s three lighthouses, one of which still guides ships safely away from the island’s northernmost point, are lovely to see and photograph.
—
Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, "Best Places to Travel in August," 2 July 2020 Of course, daisies add texture and color to backyard landscaping and make a lovely addition to tabletop bouquets.
—
Claire Harmeyer, Better Homes & Gardens, "5 Fascinating Facts About Daisies You Probably Didn't Know," 2 July 2020 And the tables were large rounds with eight or 10 place settings — which is lovely for dinner conversation but perhaps unwise during a pandemic.
—
Washington Post, "The virus didn’t stop a Washington socialite from throwing a backyard soiree. Then the tests came back positive.," 1 July 2020 Another truly luxury pick, this percale sheet set stays crisp, with a 200 thread count, and comes with a lovely embroidered edge.
—
Tanya Edwards, CNN Underscored, "13 sheet sets perfect for summer sleeping," 1 July 2020 Thank you for the lovely comments after my son’s impromptu appearance mid-live-broadcast.
—
Sanya Mansoor, Time, "Relatable Child Interrupts His Mother's Live TV Interview to Ask for Cookies," 1 July 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun No, Colin Frissell hooking up with the three lovelies in Wisconsin.
—
Kyle Smith, National Review, "Hail the Romcom Masterpiece," 10 Dec. 2019 The vegetables: Along with the summer lovelies mentioned above, some people get all crazy and put mushrooms in their ratatouille.
—
James P. Dewan, chicagotribune.com, "What to do with summer’s bounty of tomatoes, zucchini and more? Make ratatouille," 13 Aug. 2019 Here are some of the lovelies that were arrested recently -- the Berkeley deal.
—
Fox News, "Ingraham: Far-left billionaires uniting to remake America," 29 Aug. 2018 Scott Rubin was asked to write jokes for National Lampoon’s Strip Poker, a witless pay-per-view series featuring Kaelin and a group of lovelies (including Olivia Munn, then known as Lisa) at the Hedonism II nudist resort in Jamaica.
—
Benjamin Wallace, HWD, "Can Anyone Repair National Lampoon’s Devastated Brand?," 1 May 2017 The Observer resolved then and there to award these two lovelies his first Mellow MoonPie award, for grit and glimmer in the face of death.
—
The Masked Observer, AL.com, "The Masked Observer discovers a lot of Eastern Shore energy with the Pierrettes," 31 Jan. 2018 Of these desirable lovelies, only Mabel (who is also played by the gamely resourceful Omar) opens her heart to poor forlorn Freddy.
—
Charles Mcnulty, latimes.com, "'Pirates of Penzance,' with a piña colada: Gilbert & Sullivan plays as interactive party," 26 Jan. 2018 Its Instagram feed for its men’s line, for example, which has more than 855,000 followers, is a cornucopia of F.O.M.O.-inducing shots of stylish young lovelies cavorting in exotic locales wearing cool watches.
—
Alex Williams, New York Times, "A Watch Brand by and for Millennials," 30 Oct. 2017 Lunch or dinner isn’t complete without a stop at the pretty-as-a-picture pastry case, with lovelies like chocolate caramel tartlets lined up inside.
—
Carol Deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The Milwaukee 50, with Milwaukee's Top 30 restaurants, ranked," 15 Sep. 2017
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lovely.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for lovely
lovely
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of lovely
(Entry 1 of 2)
: attractive or beautiful especially in a graceful way
: very good or likable
: very pleasing
lovely
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of lovely (Entry 2 of 2)
informal : a beautiful woman : a lovely woman
See the full definition for lovely in the English Language Learners Dictionary
lovely
adjectivelove·ly | \ ˈləv-lē \
\lovelier; loveliest
Kids Definition of lovely
1 : very attractive or beautiful
You look lovely in that outfit.
2 : very pleasing
We had a lovely time.
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on lovely
What made you want to look up lovely? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Words for Summer: A Quiz
- Which of the following words means “of or relating to summer”?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
- Words for Summer: A Quiz
Test your knowledge of words related to the season of longer days and vacations.
Take the quiz - A More Exception(al) Quiz
Which of these things doesn't belong?
Take the quiz - Spell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quiz - Dictionary Devil
The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?
Play the game
Share lovely
Time Traveler for lovely
The first known use of lovely was before the 12th century
See more words from the same century