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a handsome face
an attractive face
a pleasing face
a lovely face
a fine face
a pretty face
a handsome profit
a hefty profit
a lovely profit
a generous profit
a healthy profit
a tidy profit
a handsome book
an attractive book
a beautiful book
a gorgeous book
an elegant book
an exquisite book

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective handsome differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of handsome are beautiful, comely, fair, lovely, and pretty. While all these words mean "exciting sensuous or aesthetic pleasure," handsome suggests aesthetic pleasure due to proportion, symmetry, or elegance.

a handsome Georgian mansion

When is it sensible to use beautiful instead of handsome?

While the synonyms beautiful and handsome are close in meaning, beautiful applies to whatever excites the keenest of pleasure to the senses and stirs emotion through the senses.

beautiful mountain scenery

How are the words comely and handsome related?

Comely is like handsome in suggesting what is coolly approved rather than emotionally responded to.

the comely grace of a dancer

When could fair be used to replace handsome?

The synonyms fair and handsome are sometimes interchangeable, but fair suggests beauty because of purity, flawlessness, or freshness.

fair of face

How do lovely and beautiful relate to one another, in the sense of handsome?

Lovely is close to beautiful but applies to a narrower range of emotional excitation in suggesting the graceful, delicate, or exquisite.

a lovely melody

When would pretty be a good substitute for handsome?

The words pretty and handsome can be used in similar contexts, but pretty often applies to superficial or insubstantial attractiveness.

a painter of conventionally pretty scenes

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 handsome But Pedro, or Joel, rather, is so painfully handsome, whoever was describing him to Abby couldn’t overlook that fact. Stephanie Sengwe, People.com, 25 May 2025 And who should pick up Agathe from the ferry but a handsome, prickly Englishman, Oliver (Charlie Anson), the great-great-great-great-grandnephew of Ms. Austen herself. Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 25 May 2025 The works on view at the Met have a remarkable depth and presence, and their handsome presentation emphasizes their appeal as keepsakes. Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 24 May 2025 The handsome and charismatic Lord Edward Fitzgerald, an Anglican son of a duke, renounced his title and commanded the society’s militia. Joseph Patrick Kelly, The Conversation, 20 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for handsome
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handsome
Adjective
  • Marked by a graceful melancholia and filled with daunting technical feats, especially the director’s signature, logistics-defying long takes, his films are beautifully realized meditations on nostalgia and loss in which the cinema tends to be a character itself.
    Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 23 May 2025
  • This is graceful, quietly intelligent filmmaking—including a touch of unsentimental magic realism involving a wise and beautiful Norwegian Forest Cat.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 23 May 2025
Adjective
  • The trend is particularly striking across younger age cohorts; Gen Z drinks less than prior generations at the same age, and millennials hold the largest share of no-alcohol drinkers, according to IWSR.
    Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 29 May 2025
  • Over 1,000 cattle or calf pairs also qualify as a large CAFO.
    Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 2025
Adjective
  • That's why the new savings account for children included in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill , with a one-time deposit of $1,000 from the federal government, is truly beautiful to the investment community.
    Medora Lee, USA Today, 23 May 2025
  • The grounds are beautiful, the setting is tranquil, and the ceremonies held here every Memorial Day are filled with heartfelt patriotism.
    Staff report, Hartford Courant, 22 May 2025
Adjective
  • That enthusiasm has pushed one of his most popular collections back to the summit on one major list, while another brand new title earns the rock legend another top 10 bestseller — just ahead of what’s sure to be another sizable debut.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
  • Just as those anti-Trump, anti-capitalism, down-with-oligarchs and BTW free Luigi rallies draw some sizable crowds.
    Boston Herald editorial staff, Boston Herald, 29 May 2025
Adjective
  • Old Midleton Distillery, with its elegant stone facade, was originally a woolen mill in the late 18th century.
    Brad Japhe, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
  • In a sleek, lilac bottle, the elegant formula is also made with silk extract.
    Jenny Berg, Allure, 24 May 2025
Adjective
  • This indicates substantial price swings during these periods.
    Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 26 May 2025
  • In the February meeting, however, Clinton’s top economic advisers, including Bob Rubin, the then head of the National Economic Council, and Lloyd Bentsen, the Treasury Secretary at the time, were advocating substantial cuts in the budget.
    John Cassidy, New Yorker, 26 May 2025
Adjective
  • People in these jobs generally manage the practical logistics of trying to create workplaces that are more welcoming for all employees — and more attractive to a broader pool of qualified candidates.
    Maria Aspan, NPR, 27 May 2025
  • This off-season, the Parks Department even made an effort to spruce up its lifeguard stations, repainting and adding amenities like fridges and microwaves, to make the job more attractive and comfortable.
    Alyce McFadden, New York Times, 25 May 2025
Adjective
  • The legislation, despite its exceptions, still provoked considerable resistance in the House of Representatives.
    Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 June 2025
  • According to data presented by Soltero, both Oak Terrace and Red Oak have seen a considerable decline in enrollment in a five-year period, although Oak Terrace has seen more than double that of Red Oak; about 31% compared to Red Oak’s 13%.
    Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Handsome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handsome. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.

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