Handsome Meaning
/ˈhæn.səm/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjHaving a pleasing appearance, good-looking, attractive, particularly
adjHaving a pleasing appearance, good-looking, attractive, Of a man or boy: attractively manly, having a pleasing face and overall effect.
Sentence Examples
He is not handsome, to be sure, but he is good-natured.
Peter and Eve make a handsome couple.
Tom is the most handsome actor in the world.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ actor caught everyone's attention as soon as he entered the room.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The actor was very ____ and had a charming personality that made him very popular.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English handsum, hondsom, equivalent to hand + -some. Compare Dutch handzaam, German Low German handsaam. The original sense was “easy to handle or use”, hence “suitable” and “apt, clever” (mid-16th century), giving rise to the current appreciatory senses (late 16th century).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I saw, I confess, some good dancing and some handsome women, which was all my pleasure."
— 1661–1669 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “(please specify the entry date)”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume (please specify |volume=I to X), London: George Bell & Sons […]; Cambridge: Deighton Bell & Co., published 1893–1899, →OCLC:
"At the farther end of this great lamp-lit apartment was another doorway closed in with heavy Oriental-looking curtains, quite unlike those that hung before the doors of our own rooms, and here stood two particularly handsome girl mutes, their heads bowed upon their bosoms and their hands crossed in an attitude of humble submission."
— 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
"On the opposite side of the street, on the corner, is the city hall, a very handsome building of brick and stone."
— 1916, On H.R. 4683, site for post-office building at Chicago, Ill, page 117:
"The mother, Ekaterina Pavlovna, who at one time had been handsome, but now, asthmatic, depressed, vague, and over-feeble for her years, tried to entertain me with conversation about painting. Having heard from her daughter that I might come to Shelkovka, she had hurriedly recalled two or three of my landscapes which she had seen in exhibitions in Moscow, and now asked what I meant to express by them."
— 1917, Anton Chekhov, translated by Constance Garnett, The Darling and Other Stories, Project Gutenberg, →ISBN, page 71:
"In recent times the Samoyed, one of the handsomest breeds, has become popular as a show dog in England and the U.S."
— 1993, Funk & Wagnalls Corporation, Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, volume 23, page 106:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ actor caught everyone's attention as soon as he entered the room.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The actor was very ____ and had a charming personality that made him very popular.