It is common in informal speech and writing but is neither rare nor wrong in serious discourse. We can use pretty as an adverb, before an adjective or another adverb, meaning ‘quite, but not extremely’ … that's a pretty hat you're wearing The sofa was covered in very pretty flowery material She's got such a pretty daughter She looked pretty in a simple cotton dress.
Pleasing or attractive to the eye, as by delicacy or gracefulness. See examples of pretty used in a sentence. Find 447 different ways to say pretty, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at thesaurus.com. When particularly stressed, the adverb pretty serves almost to diminish the adjective or adverb that it modifies, by emphasizing that there are greater levels of intensity. Definition of pretty adjective in oxford advanced american dictionary Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
Pleasing or charming but not grand or overwhelming A pretty little cabin in the woods. There are 20 meanings listed in oed's entry for the word pretty, four of which are labelled obsolete See ‘meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
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