- Relating to the philosophy or theories of aesthetics.
- Of or concerning the appreciation of beauty or good taste: the aesthetic faculties.
- Characterized by a heightened sensitivity to beauty.
- Artistic: The play was an aesthetic success.
- Informal. Conforming to accepted notions of good taste.
- A guiding principle in matters of artistic beauty and taste; artistic sensibility: “a generous Age of Aquarius aesthetic that said that everything was art” (William Wilson).
- An underlying principle, a set of principles, or a view often manifested by outward appearances or style of behavior: “What troubled him was the squalor of [the colonel's] aesthetic” (Lewis H. Lapham).
[German ästhetisch, from New Latin aesthēticus, from Greek aisthētikos, of sense perception, from aisthēta, perceptible things, from aisthanesthai, to perceive.]
aesthetically aes·thet'i·cal·ly adv.
