1
as in dude
a man extremely interested in his clothing and personal appearance
a downtown dance club with lots of pretty boys in attendance
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stud
a physically attractive man
as a musical performer, he has yet to prove that he's more than just another pretty boy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 pretty boy
At Hartford Stage, Rafael Jordan plays Sterling as a smooth-talking pretty boy who seems unwilling to get his hands dirty.
—
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 4 Feb. 2025
Scott’s Tom Ripley was a clean break from that of Matt Damon; instead of a petulant pretty boy seized by envy and lust, this Ripley was older (Scott is in his late forties) and scarier, a lonesome manipulator with a murderous gleam in his eye.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
How to adopt: Interested adopters can meet pretty boy Pepper at the Arizona Humane Society’s South Mountain location.
—The Republic, The Arizona Republic, 21 Jan. 2023
Austin Butler’s version of Elvis is a sulky pretty boy with smokey-eye makeup, loud silk shirts, and lips the color and texture of bubblegum.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 24 June 2022
Brave, brilliant, ugly Cyrano yearns for Roxane (Evelyn Miller), who has fallen in love with pretty boy Christian (Eben Figueiredo), a soldier who has just enlisted in Cyrano’s tough-talking military regiment.
—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2022
John Boyega plays Dahomey’s young king, Ghezo, a benevolent if somewhat pretty boy leader who takes on soft diplomacy while deploying his Agojie to collect the heads of his enemies.
—Tribune News Service, cleveland, 16 Sep. 2022
This was the last time Leo would try to headline a big-budget movie still looking like the pretty boy of Titanic; after this, his next four films were for either Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 29 Dec. 2021
To compare his 1955 Newman, a pretty boy whose smile is a quick squiggle, with the Newman of 2002, his features still handsome but etched by the passage of a half-century, is an epitome in two drawings of Hirschfeld’s art.
—Terry Teachout, WSJ, 6 Apr. 2021
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 4 Feb. 2025
Scott’s Tom Ripley was a clean break from that of Matt Damon; instead of a petulant pretty boy seized by envy and lust, this Ripley was older (Scott is in his late forties) and scarier, a lonesome manipulator with a murderous gleam in his eye.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
How to adopt: Interested adopters can meet pretty boy Pepper at the Arizona Humane Society’s South Mountain location.
—The Republic, The Arizona Republic, 21 Jan. 2023
Austin Butler’s version of Elvis is a sulky pretty boy with smokey-eye makeup, loud silk shirts, and lips the color and texture of bubblegum.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 24 June 2022
Brave, brilliant, ugly Cyrano yearns for Roxane (Evelyn Miller), who has fallen in love with pretty boy Christian (Eben Figueiredo), a soldier who has just enlisted in Cyrano’s tough-talking military regiment.
—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2022
John Boyega plays Dahomey’s young king, Ghezo, a benevolent if somewhat pretty boy leader who takes on soft diplomacy while deploying his Agojie to collect the heads of his enemies.
—Tribune News Service, cleveland, 16 Sep. 2022
This was the last time Leo would try to headline a big-budget movie still looking like the pretty boy of Titanic; after this, his next four films were for either Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 29 Dec. 2021
To compare his 1955 Newman, a pretty boy whose smile is a quick squiggle, with the Newman of 2002, his features still handsome but etched by the passage of a half-century, is an epitome in two drawings of Hirschfeld’s art.
—Terry Teachout, WSJ, 6 Apr. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretty boy
Noun
-
Jesus was single, never married; Disciples were all dudes ….—
Ilana Kaplan,
People.com,
14 May 2025
-
Those are three really, really talented, strong, athletic dudes playing outside hitter for these teams.—
Tom Mulherin,
Boston Herald,
10 May 2025
Noun
-
In place of the Rihanna ring, Rocky wore Bulgari rings and added a necklace, brooch, and multiple stud earrings from the brand to complete his look.—
Starr Bowenbank,
People.com,
9 May 2025
-
If dark and moody jewelry is more her thing, this pair of London Blue topaz stud earrings are subtle but make a stunning impact.—
Gina Vaynshteyn,
StyleCaster,
7 May 2025
Noun
-
For months now, Taylor Swift fans have been playing their own version of where’s Waldo, waiting (sometimes impatiently) for the superstar to appear in public with her beau, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
11 May 2025
-
Ciara is there with her beau, Russell Wilson, as Future walks the carpet not far behind them.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
6 May 2025
Noun
-
Fashion and dandyism enthusiasts will immediately recall writings about historical fashion figure and dandy Beau Brummell, an arbiter of men’s style in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.—
Tonya Blazio-Licorish,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2019
-
The original dandy—most famously embodied by figures like Beau Brummell in 18th-century Britain—was a man whose primary purpose was to stand out by being impeccably groomed and dressed.—
Ty Gaskins,
Vogue,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
City officials are warning anyone who has been in contact with the fox to seek medical attention.—
Mitchell Willetts,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 May 2025
-
The arrows in the second photo point to the fox's bushy tail and to where the animal's head is, which is pointed down out of sight in the picture.—
Kelli Bender,
People.com,
9 May 2025
Noun
-
There’s nothing wrong with ogling a juicy rack of ribs or drooling over a hunk of brisket slowly smoking over hot coals.—
Katie Rife,
EW.com,
11 May 2025
-
Some of them were things that predated the trail construction, including hunks of rebar, a concrete road barrier that apparently had been in the creek for many years, and an assortment of shopping carts.—
John Meyer,
Denver Post,
8 May 2025
Noun
-
Its Southern Alps are where Hollywood films fantasy flicks, skiers slide and Americans flock like sheep to get an easy eyeful.—
Christopher Cameron,
Robb Report,
17 May 2025
-
Even a glance at the headlines these days will give you an eyeful of negativity.—
Harry Kraemer,
Forbes.com,
5 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pretty boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretty%20boy. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share