pretty

(prĭt'ē)
adj., -ti·er, -ti·est.

1. Pleasing or attractive in a graceful or delicate way. See synonyms at beautiful.
2. Clever; adroit: a pretty maneuver.
3. Very bad; terrible: in a pretty predicament; a situation that has reached a pretty pass.
4. Ostensibly or superficially attractive but lacking substance or conviction: full of pretty phrases.
5. Informal. Considerable in size or extent: a pretty fortune.

adv.

1. To a fair degree; moderately: a pretty good student.
2. In a pretty manner; prettily or pleasingly.

n., pl., -ties.

1. One that is pretty.
2. pretties Delicate clothing, especially lingerie.

tr.v., -tied, -ty·ing, -ties.
To make pretty: pretty up the house.

idiom:

pretty much

1. For the most part; mostly: "The . . . matter was pretty much dying down" (John Strahinich).

[Middle English prety, clever, fine, handsome, from Old English prættig, cunning, from prætt, trick.]

prettily pret'ti·ly adv.
prettiness pret'ti·ness n.

View more Literature & Language videos

1. Pretty is used as an adverb with the meaning 'fairly, moderately', as in The performance was pretty good / He did pretty much as he liked. The adverb corresponding to the usual meaning of pretty is prettily: She always dresses so prettily.

2. It is also used ironically (i.e. with a meaning opposite to the normal) as an adjective in such uses as A pretty mess you have made of it and Things have come to a pretty pass.

Previous:	pretence, presumptuous, prestigious
Next:	prevaricate, procrastinate, prevent, preventable

adjective

1. Pleasing to the eye or mind: attractive, bewitching, enchanting, engaging, enticing, fascinating, fetching, glamorous, lovely, prepossessing, sweet, taking, tempting, winning, winsome. See like/dislike.
2. Having qualities that delight the eye: attractive, beauteous, beautiful, comely, fair, good-looking, gorgeous, handsome, lovely, pulchritudinous, ravishing, sightly, stunning. Scots bonny. Idioms: easy on the eyes. See beautiful/ugly.

adverb

To some extent: fairly, rather. Idioms: more or less. See big/small/amount.

Idioms beginning with pretty:
pretty as a picture
pretty much
pretty penny, a

See also in a fix (pretty pickle); kettle of fish, pretty; sitting pretty.

adj

Definition: attractive
Antonyms: disgusting, plain, ugly

IN BRIEF: Pleasant to look at or hear. Also: Somewhat.

Money will buy you a pretty good dog, but it won't buy the wag of his tail. — Josh Billings (1856-1950

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

For a list of words related to pretty, see:

• Beautiful, attractive, or well-formed
• Limitations and Conditions
• Appealing, Elegant, Neat, Rich, or Fancy

---

See words rhyming with "pretty."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Pretty.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - køn, dygtig
adv. - temmelig
n. - mønster på drikkeglas
v. tr. - pynte på

idioms:

• not a pretty sight    ikke et kønt syn
• pretty much    temmelig meget
• pretty nearly    næsten
• pretty pickle    en køn redelighed
• pretty well    temmelig godt

Nederlands (Dutch)
knap, fraai, nogal, behoorlijk, tamelijk groot

Français (French)
adj. - joli, petit, coquet (une somme)
adv. - vraiment, assez, pratiquement
n. - beauté, joliesse
v. tr. - enjoliver, rendre coquet (un appartement)

idioms:

• not a pretty sight    pas beau à voir
• pretty much    pratiquement, presque
• pretty nearly    pratiquement, presque
• pretty well    très bien

Deutsch (German)
n. - Hübsche
v. - hübsch machen
adv. - ziemlich
adj. - hübsch, nett, schön

idioms:

• not a pretty sight    kein schöner Anblick
• pretty much    so ziemlich, so gut wie
• pretty nearly    so ziemlich, so gut wie
• pretty well    ganz gut

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ομορφούλης
v. - ομορφαίνω, εξωραϊζω
adv. - κάμποσο, αρκετά, (καθομ.) πολύ
adj. - όμορφος, χαριτωμένος, ευχάριστος στην όψη, εξεζητημένος, σημαντικός

idioms:

• not a pretty sight    άσχημο θέαμα, στραπατσαρισμένος
• pretty much    σχεδόν
• pretty nearly    σχεδόν
• pretty pickle    πολύ δύσκολη θέση
• pretty well    σχεδόν, περίπου

Italiano (Italian)
abbastanza, piuttosto, graziosa, carina

idioms:

• not a pretty sight    non un bello spettacolo
• pretty much/nearly    parecchio, piuttosto
• pretty well    abbastanza bene

Português (Portuguese)
n. - beleza (f)
v. - embelezar
adv. - lindamente
adj. - linda, bastante

idioms:

• not a pretty sight    uma visão nada bela
• pretty much/nearly    bastante/quase
• pretty well    muito bem

Русский (Russian)
вполне, хорошенький, симпатичный

idioms:

• not a pretty sight    неприятное зрелище
• pretty much/nearly    довольно много/близко
• pretty well    неплохо

Español (Spanish)
adj. - guapo, lindo, bonito, precioso, mono
adv. - bastante, algo, un poco, considerablemente
n. - guapo, precioso, mono, muchacha bonita, bello
v. tr. - embellecer, mejorar la apariencia

idioms:

• not a pretty sight    no es nada agradable
• pretty much    más o menos, bastante
• pretty nearly    más o menos, bastante
• pretty well    medianamente, así así

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - (min) sköna, kära
v. - snygga upp, försköna
adv. - rätt, ganska, så gott som, ungefär
adj. - näpen, söt, snygg, fin, skön

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
漂亮的, 优美的, 可爱的, 相当, 颇, 漂亮的人, 漂亮的东西, 使漂亮, 美化, 使可爱

idioms:

• not a pretty sight    并不那么赏心悦目
• pretty much    差不多, 几乎全部, 非常
• pretty nearly    几乎
• pretty pickle    处境困难
• pretty well    几乎

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 漂亮的, 優美的, 可愛的
adv. - 相當, 頗
n. - 漂亮的人, 漂亮的東西
v. tr. - 使漂亮, 美化, 使可愛

idioms:

• not a pretty sight    並不那麼賞心悅目
• pretty much    差不多, 幾乎全部, 非常
• pretty nearly    幾乎
• pretty pickle    處境困難
• pretty well    幾乎

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 예쁜, 귀여운
adv. - 비교적, 꽤, 상당히
n. - 여보
v. tr. - 예쁘게 하다, 장식하다

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - きれいな, 快い, すばらしい, 見事な, 相当な, たいした
adv. - かなり, 相当に, とても

idioms:

• a pretty penny    かなりの大金
• not a pretty sight    悲惨な光景
• pretty much/nearly    ほとんど
• pretty well    かなりよく, ほとんど

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) بارع, مناسب, ظريف, حسن, جيد (فعل) يجمل (ظرف) على نحو ظريف (صفه) جميل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮יפה, מקסים, נהדר (באירוניה), נחמד, חמוד‬
adv. - ‮די-, מאוד, למדי, במידת-מה‬
n. - ‮אדם חמוד (בעיקר בפנייה לילד)‬
v. tr. - ‮ייפה‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.