loveliness 1 of 3

lovely

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adjective

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lovely

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noun (2)

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective lovely differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of lovely are beautiful, comely, fair, handsome, and pretty. While all these words mean "exciting sensuous or aesthetic pleasure," 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 could beautiful be used to replace lovely?

The words beautiful and lovely are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, 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 lovely?

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

the comely grace of a dancer

When is fair a more appropriate choice than lovely?

In some situations, the words fair and lovely are roughly equivalent. However, fair suggests beauty because of purity, flawlessness, or freshness.

fair of face

When would handsome be a good substitute for lovely?

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

a handsome Georgian mansion

When is it sensible to use pretty instead of lovely?

Although the words pretty and lovely have much in common, 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 loveliness
Adjective
Plus, there comprehensive 12 shades to choose from: a bright fuchsia looks lovely on deeper complexions, alongside the more classic baby pinks and peaches for fairer tones. Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 8 May 2025 There’s a lovely give to their footbed that makes walking on hard surfaces comfy and less jarring. Sara Coughlin, SELF, 7 May 2025
Noun
No, Colin Frissell hooking up with the three lovelies in Wisconsin. Kyle Smith, National Review, 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, 13 Aug. 2019 See All Example Sentences for loveliness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loveliness
Adjective
  • Washington Capitals, won 4-1 against Montreal Last week: 7 Sean: 4 Dom: 9 Pierre-Luc Dubois had a fine first round, but zero goals and two assists were still a step down from his wonderful regular season.
    Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 2 May 2025
  • Big, wonderful, funny, horrible, strange, sad, great life.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 1 May 2025
Adjective
  • Churches aren’t just beautiful buildings that uplift New York.
    New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 10 May 2025
  • The property has beautiful minimalist, modern design with pops of natural wood accents and stunning views of the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains.
    Kimberley Mok, Travel + Leisure, 9 May 2025
Adjective
  • Maddison is responsible for dropping deep and pinging passes into dangerous areas, while Kulusevski and Bergvall are excellent ball-carriers.
    Jay Harris, New York Times, 12 May 2025
  • The Spa The wellness spaces were not yet ready during my visit, so the hotel arranged an excellent massage in my suite.
    David Shortell, Travel + Leisure, 12 May 2025
Adjective
  • That’s good, but cladding a phone whose raison d’etre is gorgeous, slim design seems less than ideal.
    David Phelan, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025
  • The gorgeous shade is just one part of the autumn color palette, though.
    Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 3 May 2025
Adjective
  • The Encinitas Coastal Rotary Club looks forward to hosting the event again next year, promising even more excitement, community spirit, and fabulous designer handbags.
    News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 May 2025
  • In fact, his goal, after a fabulous assist by Leroy Sané, was almost Mülleresque.
    Manuel Veth, Forbes.com, 10 May 2025
Adjective
  • At a press screening of the film in March, these cute, interstitial clips drew big laughs.
    Eric Renner Brown, Billboard, 7 May 2025
  • Leather Small Crossbody Bag Jennifer Garner and Judy Greer just wore cute and functional outfits that reminded us how convenient crossbody bags are.
    Isabel Garcia, People.com, 7 May 2025
Adjective
  • And a pop girlie as big as Lorde having these kinds of conversations about gender expansiveness is awesome in and of itself.
    James Factora, Them., 2 May 2025
  • And one of the things that’s awesome (obviously) about the MG-1 is its magnetic and swappable front panel, which makes limited edition runs like this possible.
    Mitch Wallace, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Adjective
  • Also receiving handsome compensation, though not a CEO, at WWE and UFC owner TKO?
    Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2025
  • Thankfully, Dornan’s handsome features didn’t hamper his acting career in the long run.
    Emlyn Travis Published, EW.com, 7 May 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Loveliness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loveliness. Accessed 17 May. 2025.

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