lovely

1 of 2

adjective

love·​ly ˈləv-lē 

lovelier; loveliest

1

: delightful for beauty, harmony, or grace : attractive

She looks lovely in that dress.

2

: grand, swell

what a lovely morning

3

: eliciting love by moral or ideal worth

A lovely woman who loves him for himself, not for his money.

4

obsolete : lovable

lovelily

ˈləv-lə-lē 

adverb

loveliness

ˈləv-lē-nəs 

noun

lovely

2 of 2

noun

plural lovelies

1

: a beautiful woman

2

: a lovely object

Synonyms

Adjective

• wonderful
• beautiful
• excellent
• fabulous
• awesome
• great
• fantastic
• terrific
• superb
• marvellous
• marvelous
• stellar
• fine

Choose the Right Synonym for lovely

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 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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Amazon This picture book from Chronicle Books is a favorite at WIRED for its lovely images and engaging story of environmental scientist Ken Nedimeyer, whose passion for marine biology, particularly coral, led him to found the Coral Restoration Foundation. —Simon Hill, Wired News, 10 July 2025

This jar candle has a lovely fragrance reminiscent of a tropical island, featuring citrus, florals and vanilla elements. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 10 July 2025

Noun

Fanny and Stella, middle-class lovelies in hoop skirts, engage in a warm embrace. —Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2025

In an early scene, poor Christian attends a dating event, having gamed the system, with his perfect numerical logic, so that all the potential lovelies are lined up at his table. —Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 24 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing lovely

• a good/great/lovely time
• lovely and

Rhymes for lovely

• unlovely

Kids Definition

lovely

adjective

love·​ly

ˈləv-lē

lovelier; loveliest

1

: gracefully or delicately attractive

a lovely dress

2

: beautiful in character

3

: highly pleasing : fine

a lovely view

loveliness noun