beauty Hear it!

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beauty definition

beauty (byo̵̅o̅t′ē)

noun pl. beauties -·ties

  1. the quality attributed to whatever pleases or satisfies the senses or mind, as by line, color, form, texture, proportion, rhythmic motion, tone, etc., or by behavior, attitude, etc.
  2. a thing having this quality
  3. good looks
  4. a very good-looking woman
  5. any very attractive feature

Etymology: ME beaute < OFr bealte < VL *bellitas < L bellus, pretty, lovely

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms beauty idiom

beauty Synonyms

beauty

n.

  1. A pleasing physical quality

    attractiveness, grace, loveliness, comeliness, fairness, prettiness, handsomeness, pulchritude, charm, delicacy, exquisiteness, elegance, harmony, attraction, appeal, fascination, allurement, shapeliness, majesty, magnificence, good looks, winsomeness, glamour, bloom, radiance, class*.

    Antonyms ugliness*, homeliness, deformity. *

  2. An exalted mental or moral quality

    value, merit, excellence; see virtue 1.

  3. Use or value

    advantage, attraction, excellence, worth; see advantage 3.

  4. A beautiful thing or person, particularly a woman

    goddess, belle, ornament, attraction, vision, picture, belle chose (French), siren, Circe, enchantress, seductress, Venus, femme fatale, charmer, angel, looker*, eyeful*, knockout*, dreamboat*, dish*, doll*, stunner*, good-looker*, sex goddess*, fox*, ten*. *

    Antonyms witch*, blemish*, fright.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

beauty Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • appreciate: Appreciate the mathematical beauty of Utzon's Opera House shells.

Converse of subject

  • captivate: Come on, I have to be captivated by beauty because it's my job to capture it.

Adjective modifier

  • outstanding: We are slap in the middle of an area of outstanding beauty.

Modifies a noun

  • salon: He cuts hair at a beauty salon, she waits tables at her dad's restaurant.

Noun used with modifier

  • sleeping: All the rest is back to its sleeping beauty.

Preposition: of

  • countryside: I fell in love with the beauty of the Austrian countryside and found it really hard to come back.
beauty usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

beauty quotes

There is sometimes a greater judgement shewn in deviating from the rules of art, than in adhering to them; and†there ismore beauty inthe works of a great genius who is ignorant of all the rules of art, than in the works of a little genius, who not only knows but scrupulously observes them.

-Addison,Joseph

Edward Hopper is the great painter of American hell in the 20th century, the limner-laureate of the beauty, poignance, eternityand bone-ache disquietude of life.

-Allen, Henry Southworth

   My Love in her attire doth show her wit, It doth so well become her; For every season she hath dressings fit, For winter, spring, and summer. No beauty she doth miss When all her robes are on; But beauty's self she is When all her robes are gone.

-Anonymous

beauty quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"beauty." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 3 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/beauty>

APA Style

beauty. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 3rd, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/beauty

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