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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 Like Williams, Desplat is now a grizzled (though painterly handsome) veteran himself, with hundreds of films to his name. Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2025 He is set to be paid a handsome amount of money during the upcoming 2025 NFL season. Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 June 2025 Arnold Sentinel Austrian pine is a drought-tolerant evergreen with uniform columnar shape and handsome bluish-green needles. Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 June 2025 In 1923, the handsome thirty-one-year-old movie star Wallace Reid died from morphine and alcohol addiction. Literary Hub, 24 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for handsome
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handsome
Adjective
  • Jinkx had a beautiful showing in a season where the queens all got to just show their best every week.
    EW.com, EW.com, 9 July 2025
  • So go ahead, live in the Arizona desert, the Colorado mountains, Upstate New York, or, like me, the beautiful plains of Oklahoma.
    Katrina Cossey, Parents, 8 July 2025
Adjective
  • The chrysoprase cabochons on a necklace from the house’s 2025 high-jewelry collection demonstrate their enduringly graceful symmetry.
    Jill Newman, Robb Report, 29 June 2025
  • The unlikely but true tale of a multimillion dollar, inside job heist, the 2016 film is a crazy cinematic ride with a who’s who of A-list funny folk and moments hilariously dumb and graceful, romantic and ruinous.
    Lesley O'Toole, Variety, 10 June 2025
Adjective
  • Stablecoins are coming forward as one of the most plausible crypto applications for real-world transactions, and several of the largest retailers globally, including Walmart (NYSE:WMT), are taking note.
    Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025
  • Give ample space to large vehicles - Trucks or buses can create a water spray that diminishes visibility.
    CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2025
Adjective
  • Tommy John surgery typically carries a recovery timeline of at least 12 months, which would put Schmidt on track to miss a sizable portion of next season, too.
    Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 5 July 2025
  • Sony Pictures Entertainment has a sizable footprint in the anime sector through its ownership of Crunchyroll, a subscription streaming platform and content brand.
    Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 4 July 2025
Adjective
  • Investments in private equity, real estate crowdfunding and digital assets have surged as younger investors proactively manage risks related to inflation and market downturns, seeking stable yet attractive returns.
    Hemanth Golla, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • The use of renewable coconut husks may be an attractive point for anyone looking to make their home more eco-conscious.
    Michelle Rostamian, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • For the rest of her styling, Gomez wore a black gown with velvet bow detailing and an elegant French bob, proving that lilac goes with pretty much anything.
    Ariana Yaptangco, Glamour, 30 June 2025
  • Rivers in Ecuador, India, and Canada provide the settings for this elegant travelogue, which asks whether a natural entity, such as a river, can be regarded as a living thing.
    The New Yorker, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • This, coupled with liquidity issues, can lead to cash flow crises, forcing sales at substantial discounts.
    Matthew F. Erskine, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • The spending will be paid for, in part, through substantial cuts to social safety net programs.
    Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • While Applied’s considerable exposure to China, which made up over a third of its revenue in FY'24, has raised investor concerns due to U.S. export restrictions, signs of easing tensions are emerging.
    Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
  • The two largest third parties in 2025 are the Libertarian and Green Parties, though neither are registered in all 50 states, presenting a considerable barrier in efforts to compete with the Democrats and GOP.
    Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 8 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Handsome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://x0upouf933.proxynodejs.usequeue.com/thesaurus/handsome. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on handsome

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