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a beautiful day
a perfect day
a gorgeous day
a nice day
a pretty day
beautiful music
elegant music
pleasant music
pretty music
lovely music
wonderful music
beautiful eyes
amazing eyes
pretty eyes
beautiful scenery
picturesque scenery
pristine scenery
spectacular scenery
breathtaking scenery
exquisite scenery
a beautiful baby
an adorable baby
a cute baby
a precious baby
a lovely baby
a gorgeous baby

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective beautiful differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of beautiful are comely, fair, handsome, lovely, and pretty. While all these words 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

How are the words comely and handsome related as synonyms of beautiful?

Comely is like handsome in suggesting what is coolly approved rather than emotionally responded to.

the comely grace of a dancer

When can fair be used instead of beautiful?

The words fair and beautiful are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, fair suggests beauty because of purity, flawlessness, or freshness.

fair of face

When could handsome be used to replace beautiful?

While in some cases nearly identical to beautiful, handsome suggests aesthetic pleasure due to proportion, symmetry, or elegance.

a handsome Georgian mansion

How do lovely and beautiful relate to one another?

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

a lovely melody

In what contexts can pretty take the place of beautiful?

The words pretty and beautiful can be used in similar contexts, but 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 beautiful The job was to find a photographer or find a model, pack a trunk of clothes and flit off to St. Moritz for a week and take beautiful pictures and come back. A Martínez, NPR, 27 June 2025 The beautiful game has all too often been marred by unsavory incidents of bigotry. Hannah Ryan, CNN Money, 27 June 2025 When the competitions began in the 1990s, judges awarded points for things like beautiful architecture and keeping costs low. Ryan Kellman, NPR, 15 June 2025 This wine estate is located up a beautiful valley west of, and perpendicular to, the axis of the hills that form the Côte d’Or. Tom Mullen, Forbes.com, 15 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for beautiful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beautiful
Adjective
  • With so many lovely fruits at our fingertips, there’s no reason to trifle with making a trifle this summer.
    Josh Miller, Southern Living, 28 June 2025
  • The post goes on to include a lovely list of recommendations for both kids and adults looking to scratch a fantastical itch.
    Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 27 June 2025
Adjective
  • Colleagues, mentors and friends are wonderful sources of feedback.
    Kim Salem-Jackson, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • Favorite collections: Dior, Willy Chavarria, Craig Green, Lemaire and Officine Générale Best show format: The glorious city of Paris and its surroundings were on wonderful display this show season.
    Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • On top of the pocket perk, the prints of this high-waist maxi skirt are gorgeous, with pretty florals, geometric designs, and solid colors.
    Chaunie Brusie, Parents, 4 July 2025
  • This crossbody phone case is made from genuine leather and has gorgeous gold accents.
    BestReviews, Mercury News, 4 July 2025
Adjective
  • There are many excellent CRM platforms that are available at a much lower price point and that can serve the needs of most small and mid-sized businesses.
    Gene Marks, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025
  • This would not have been possible without tireless work from our excellent lawyers @TheJusticeDept and our Solicitor General John Sauer.
    Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 June 2025
Adjective
  • July 6, 2025: Rodman watching Shelton’s match at Wimbledon is so cute the ESPN announcer literally giggles trying to talk about them.
    Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 7 July 2025
  • Oh, and the best pairs of the bunch are also plain old comfy (and cute, in a gorpcore kind of way).
    Sara Coughlin, SELF, 7 July 2025
Adjective
  • Grow by leaving awesome LinkedIn comments Identify your strongest beliefs Your commenting strategy needs a theme.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025
  • This role was really an opportunity to foreground your sexuality and have this awesome love story with Gabin (Ivan du Pontavice).
    Maureen Lee Lenker Published, EW.com, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • An innovation on the part of Buchan, was the glamorous female mastermind, Hilda von Einem, who vies with the handsome Irish intriguer Dominic Medina (please do read ‘Greenmantle’ and the ‘Three Hostages’) as the foil to Richard Hannay.
    Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025
  • The main building for what is now the Austin State Hospital is a handsome neoclassical structure designed for the asylum that chartered in 1856.
    Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 4 July 2025
Adjective
  • This week on And Just Like That…, Carrie Bradshaw got some advice from a fabulous old friend.
    Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 27 June 2025
  • Other varieties provide additional design elements such as interesting bark, colorful fruits, and fabulous fall foliage to enhance the garden all year long.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 27 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Beautiful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beautiful. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on beautiful

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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