lovely
adjectivenounadverbadjectivetop 1 000 in film dialogue
- //ˈlʌv.li//
- /[ˈlʌv.lɪi̯]/
Delightful for beauty, harmony, or grace.
adjective
- 1
Delightful for beauty, harmony, or grace.
It's a lovely day and the sun is shining.
The music box plays a lovely melody.
The castle garden enchants visitors with its lovely blooms.
So it was this beautiful young woman Rokoff had been persecuting. Tarzan wondered in a lazy sort of way whom she might be, and what relations one so lovely could have with the surly, bearded Russian.
- 2
Nice; wonderful.
It would be lovely to have a little more money to spend.
It is a lovely night, and why should we not prolong our ride a little?"
- 3
obsoleteInspiring love or friendship; amiable.
a most lovely gentlemanlike man
- 4
obsoleteLoving, filled with love.
seal the title with a lovely kiss
Etymology
From Middle English lovely, luvelich, lufli, from Old English luflīċ, luflīc (“amiable, loving, lovable”), equivalent to love + -ly.
noun
- 1
informalAn attractive, lovely person, especially a (professional) beauty.
a calendar depicting young lovelies in bikinis
"I'd sooner be on the stage than anywhere else." "You mean you like being cocked up in front of an audience with nothing much on and getting a thrill out of being what those idiotic newspapers call a Lovely or a Glamour Girl. With all the damned glamour on the stage and none off it."
Tom Bower’s 2024 book, The House of Beckham, painted a rather snide portrait of the marriage, in which Beckham is constantly surrounded by lovelies, and Victoria is in a constant huff about it.
- 2
Term of fond address.
Goodbye, my lovely.
But where do you go to my lovely / When you're alone in your bed?
- 3
A lovely object.
In Montréal, the summer months bring in a huge variety of fruits and vegetables and this is the time to preserve them. Preserving can also refer to the storage of these fiber and vitamin rich lovelies.
May Bell ironed the last ruffle and then hung the dress in the wardrobe next to her other lovelies.
adverb
- 1
informalIn a lovely fashion or manner; beautifully.
She's not everyone's cup of tea, what with the way she speaks her mind and doesn't always do her hair in the morning, but she scrubs up lovely.
Etymology
From Middle English lovely, luveliche, from Old English luflīċe (“lovingly, amiably, kindly, dearly, with good will or love, willingly”), equivalent to love + -ly.
adjective
- 1
archaicWorthy of praise.
And so he is in the eyes of all who live to his praise. To them every attribute of God is lovely. The holiness and purity of his nature is most lovely to them.
He is altogether lovely. O, all our praises of him are poor and low things!
О praise the Lord, for the Lord is gracious : О sing praises unto his Name, for it is lovely.
It is the duty of all believers to join themselves cheerfully in the setting forth the Lord's care over them, and whatsoever may make his lovely Majesty known to the world: for so he requireth the present precept and example, -- sing praises to the Lord.
Etymology
From Middle English lofly, lovely (“praiseworthy; laudatory”), equivalent to lofe + -ly. Cognate with Dutch loffelijk (“laudable, praiseworthy”), German löblich (“commendable, laudable, praiseworthy”), Swedish lovlig (“permissible”). More at lofe, love.
Forms
- plural
- lovelies
- comparative
- lovelier, more lovely
- superlative
- loveliest, most lovely
lovely · Delightful for beauty, harmony, or grace.
Lovely · A surname.lover · One who loves and cares for another person in a romantic way;…lovers · In a romantic or sexual relationship.