PRETTY | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of pretty in English prettyadverb   informal uk /ˈprɪt.i/ us /ˈprɪt̬.i/ Add to word list Add to word list B1 quite, but not extremely: The house has four bedrooms, so it's pretty big. I'm pretty sure it was her. I've got a pretty good idea of how to get there.  pretty much/well B1 almost: I've pretty much finished here. See more

• I guess that things are pretty hard for you now.
• It's pretty noisy at night-time.
• It's pretty unlikely that they'll turn up now - it's nearly ten o'clock.
• The place emptied pretty quickly when the fight started.
• Nothing really changes around here. One day is pretty much like the next.

Some and quite

• a piece/slice/share of the pie idiom
• bit
• certain
• faintly
• fairly
• ha'porth
• halfway
• lightly
• little
• mildly
• pie
• quite
• rather
• remotely
• several
• some
• to a/some degree idiom
• touch
• trifle
• vaguely

See more results »

Grammar

PrettyWe can use pretty as an adverb, before an adjective or another adverb, meaning ‘quite, but not extremely’. It is informal: … prettyadjective uk /ˈprɪt.i/ us /ˈprɪt̬.i/ A2 pleasant to look at, or (especially of girls or women or things relating to them) attractive or pleasant in a delicate way: That's a pretty hat you're wearing. The sofa was covered in very pretty flowery material. She's got such a pretty daughter. a beautiful person, painting, sight, etc.

• beautifulI've never seen a more beautiful view in my life.
• attractiveHer husband is really attractive.
• good-lookingI think they're very good-looking.
• handsomeHe's so handsome.
• prettyYour daughter is very pretty.
• gorgeousYou look gorgeous in that dress!

See more results »

• She looked pretty in a simple cotton dress.
• Our hotel room overlooked a pretty little fishing harbour.
• pretty pink flowers
• I tied the ribbon around the parcel in a pretty bow.
• She was young and pretty, with a spotless reputation.

Attractive

• adorable
• adorably
• adorbs
• aesthetic
• aesthetically
• disarming
• disarmingly
• distinguished
• dreamy
• drop-dead gorgeous
• loveliness
• lovely
• lusciously
• magnetically
• magnificent
• suavely
• suit
• super-cute
• tasteful
• tastefully

See more results »

Related word

prettiness

Idioms

cost someone a pretty penny not be a pretty sight not be just a pretty face a pretty pass pretty please (Definition of pretty from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

pretty | American Dictionary

prettyadjective [ -er/-est only ] us /ˈprɪt̬·i/

pretty adjective [-er/-est only] (PLEASANT)

Add to word list Add to word list pleasant to look at, or (esp. of girls or women or things connected with them) attractive or charming in a delicate way: a pretty view My older sister is prettier than I am.

Idiom

pretty much prettyadverb [ not gradable ] us /ˈprɪt̬·i/

pretty adverb [not gradable] (TO A LARGE DEGREE)

(used to give emphasis) to a large degree; to some degree: I’ve got a pretty clear idea of what’s going on. She was pretty tired. "How are you feeling?" "Pretty good, thanks." (Definition of pretty from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of pretty

pretty That suggested to us that they really were doing pretty much what the record said they were doing. From the Cambridge English Corpus A fancy procedure and pretty pictures are not needed, critics will add, to know that brain activity differs between the two groups. From the Cambridge English Corpus If circularities of that sort are conceded, pretty much anything can be legitimated with anything. From the Cambridge English Corpus Although both chapters on financial regulation are interesting, the conclusions are pretty standard : there is a call for a prudential regulation of banks. From the Cambridge English Corpus Nevertheless, it is to be hoped that his book will form pretty much the last word on this particular controversy. From the Cambridge English Corpus However, the "pretty horsebreakers" appearing in increasing numbers in parks and public spaces caused a surge of anxiety. From the Cambridge English Corpus Each chapter can pretty much stand on its own and would be easily extracted for topical reading in a graduate seminar. From the Cambridge English Corpus The materials overall are pretty demanding and aim at a high level of understanding. From the Cambridge English Corpus The state, it may be thought, is pretty much just us, and its decisions represent us and our decisions. From the Cambridge English Corpus It is largely the result of retrospective legislation in the 20th century, but that is pretty much like all other sets of classics. From the Cambridge English Corpus Their bibliographies are pretty good entries into the unfathomably rich literature about the subject. From the Cambridge English Corpus To empathize with what is happening on the stage one has to be pretty simple-hearted. From the Cambridge English Corpus Now ignorance of the true nature of happiness is pretty clearly a defect in the agent. From the Cambridge English Corpus A simple programming language implementation (interpreter, parser and pretty-printer) is developed and presented in a highly modular style. From the Cambridge English Corpus Figure 7c shows the use of the two incoming forms so and pretty. From the Cambridge English Corpus See all examples of pretty These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of pretty?

Translations of pretty

in Chinese (Traditional) 相當，頗，很，非常, （尤指女孩、女子或與其相關事物）漂亮的，美麗的，標緻的… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 相当，颇，很，非常, （尤指女孩、女子或与其相关事物）漂亮的，美丽的，标致的… See more in Spanish bastante, bonito, lindo… See more in Portuguese bem, bonito, gracioso… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian बरीचशी, आकर्षक / छान / मस्त… See more けっこう, かなり, かわいい… See more oldukça, epey, bir hayli… See more joli/-ie, beau/belle, assez… See more bastant, bonic… See more mooi, vrij… See more ஓரளவிற்கு, ஆனால் மிகவும் இல்லை, பார்ப்பதற்கு இனிமையானது… See more काफी, कुछ-कुछ, (विशेषकर लड़कियों… See more ઠીક ઠીક, પરંતુ અત્યંત નહિ., મનોહર… See more køn, pæn, nydelig… See more söt, fin, näpen… See more cantik, agak… See more hübsch, schön, ziemlich… See more pen, fin, ganske… See more عمدہ, اچھا, خوبصورت… See more гарненький, миловидний, хороший… See more చాలా, కానీ చాలా ఎక్కువ కాదు, అందమైన… See more বেশ ভালোরকম, তবে চরম কিছু নয়, সুন্দর… See more půvabný, pěkný, dosti… See more cantik, indah, agak… See more สวย, มากมาย, ค่อนข้าง… See more xinh xắn, đẹp, hay ho gớm… See more dosyć, raczej, ładny… See more 꽤, 어느 정도, 예쁜… See more piuttosto, quasi, grazioso… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

prettify prettifying prettily prettiness pretty pretty much idiom pretty much/well phrase pretty please idiom pretty-pretty {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of pretty

• pretty-pretty
• pretty, at quite
• pretty much idiom
• pretty much/well phrase
• pretty please idiom
• sitting pretty idiom
• a pretty pass idiom

See all meanings

• pretty much idiom
• pretty much/well phrase
• pretty please idiom
• sitting pretty idiom
• a pretty pass idiom
• be sitting pretty idiom
• pretty well, at pretty much idiom

See all idioms and phrases

Word of the Day

fraternize

UK /ˈfræt.ə.naɪz/ US /ˈfræt̬.ɚ.naɪz/

to meet someone socially, especially someone who belongs to an opposing army or team, or has a different social position

About this

Blog

Red-hot and roasting: words for describing things that are hot.

December 24, 2025 Read More

New Words

quiet cracking December 22, 2025 More new words has been added to list To top AI Assistant Contents EnglishAmericanExamplesTranslations AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
  • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
  • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
  • English–Danish Danish–English
  • English–Dutch Dutch–English
  • English–French French–English
  • English–German German–English
  • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
  • English–Italian Italian–English
  • English–Japanese Japanese–English
  • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
  • English–Polish Polish–English
  • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
  • English–Spanish Spanish–English
  • English–Swedish Swedish–English
  Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists

Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents

• English   
  • Adverb 
    • pretty
    • pretty much/well
  Adjective
• American   
  • Adjective 
    • pretty (PLEASANT)
  • Adverb 
    • pretty (TO A LARGE DEGREE)
• Examples

• Translations
• Grammar
• All translations

My word lists

To add pretty to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add pretty to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}