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a handsome face
an attractive face
a pleasing face
a lovely face
a fine face
a pretty face
a handsome profit
a hefty profit
a lovely profit
a generous profit
a healthy profit
a tidy profit
a handsome book
an attractive book
a beautiful book
a gorgeous book
an elegant book
an exquisite book

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective handsome differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of handsome are beautiful, comely, fair, lovely, and pretty. While all these words mean "exciting sensuous or aesthetic pleasure," handsome suggests aesthetic pleasure due to proportion, symmetry, or elegance.

a handsome Georgian mansion

When is it sensible to use beautiful instead of handsome?

While the synonyms beautiful and handsome are close in meaning, 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?

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

the comely grace of a dancer

When could fair be used to replace handsome?

The synonyms fair and handsome are sometimes interchangeable, but fair suggests beauty because of purity, flawlessness, or freshness.

fair of face

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

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

a lovely melody

When would pretty be a good substitute for handsome?

The words pretty and handsome 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 handsome Neither is that compelling, but Marion is quite handsome, so that should be fun. Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 20 June 2025 Some guest rooms in the main house feature handsome recessed minibars that are refashioned original washbasins; the amenities are hyperlocal, from Litchfield Candy Company and Litchfield Distillery, among others. Marcia Desanctis, Travel + Leisure, 20 June 2025 This handsome boy is ready for a fresh start on life. Trish Stinger, Kansas City Star, 18 June 2025 While at a wedding, Harry (Pascal), a handsome millionaire, starts flirting with her. Rebecca Aizin, People.com, 13 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for handsome
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handsome
Adjective
  • Until then, the MIT Museum will remain a beautiful shell with very little inside.
    Amir Husain, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
  • In Brooklyn, there was a full house at the beautiful opera-house-like Roulette space.
    Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 27 June 2025
Adjective
  • The chrysoprase cabochons on a necklace from the house’s 2025 high-jewelry collection demonstrate their enduringly graceful symmetry.
    Jill Newman, Robb Report, 29 June 2025
  • The unlikely but true tale of a multimillion dollar, inside job heist, the 2016 film is a crazy cinematic ride with a who’s who of A-list funny folk and moments hilariously dumb and graceful, romantic and ruinous.
    Lesley O'Toole, Variety, 10 June 2025
Adjective
  • Never mind that the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union was the largest women’s organization in the U.S. and provided public speaking opportunities for women at a time this was almost unheard of.
    Alice Burton, Vulture, 23 June 2025
  • Over the past 10 years, the number of renters aged 65 and older has surged by nearly 30 percent, adding 2.4 million senior renters across the country—by far the largest growth of any age group, according to new research conducted by Point2Homes.
    Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 June 2025
Adjective
  • Bezos has made sizable contributions to Venetian charities in the lead-up to the wedding, including a million-euro donation to Corila, an academic consortium that studies Venice's lagoon ecosystem, Reuters reports.
    Rachel Treisman, NPR, 23 June 2025
  • According to the Energy Information Administration, China’s primary oil sources are Russia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Iraq and Oman, although a sizable portion of Malaysia’s exports are actually relabeled or transferred from Iran.
    Anniek Bao, CNBC, 23 June 2025
Adjective
  • Robert, who turns 28 on Aug. 3, is somewhat more attractive, a plus defender in center who has stolen 21 bases in 26 attempts.
    Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 20 June 2025
  • Grocery stores operate on the thinnest of margins and chic or attractive has nothing to do with marketing commodities like eggs and bread.
    Greg Petro, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
Adjective
  • House hunters are even willing to pay up to about $1,600 more for a kitchen with cabinets in the elegant green tone, according to Zillow's analysis.
    Anne Marie D. Lee, CBS News, 18 June 2025
  • Grace Karin Floral Maxi Sundress, $48 with Prime $60 $48 at Amazon This floral maxi sundress creates an elegant A-line silhouette that shoppers say looks beautiful on a wide range of figures and heights.
    Izzy Baskette, People.com, 18 June 2025
Adjective
  • The Leafs’ time is now — and there aren’t many, if any, free agents out there who check as many potential boxes as Marchand, nor are there many trades, given the team’s limited pool of assets, that make substantial upgrades elsewhere on the roster possible.
    Jonas Siegel, New York Times, 19 June 2025
  • When companies do it though, there is a substantial pay off, said Blake Moret, the chairman and CEO at Rockwell Automation.
    Jennifer Castenson, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
Adjective
  • Valuation Discrepancy: With minimal revenue growth and considerable losses, BBAI’s current valuation appears disconnected from its operational realities.
    Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
  • News of the plan, which was developed by city administrators but has not been publicly vetted or discussed, has provoked considerable consternation in political, downtown, cultural and preservation circles.
    Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 26 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Handsome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handsome. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.

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