Handsome — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Handsome (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. very pleasing to look at

   "a handsome man with finely chiseled features"

   similar: aesthetic, attractive, beauteous, beautiful, bonny (chiefly British), comely, cute, drop-dead, fair, fetching, good, good-looking, goodly, gorgeous, knockout, likely, lovely, lovesome, pretty, ravishing, seemly, sightly, stunning, taking, well-favored
   related: alluring, appealing, charming, cunning, delightful, engaging, fascinating, glamorous, prepossessing, elegant, exquisite, glorious, Junoesque, magnificent, resplendent, splendid, statuesque, sublime, superb, flawless, perfect, radiant, dainty, delicate, personable, pleasant, presentable, chocolate-box, prettyish, desirable, dishy, dollish, foxy, hot, luscious, nubile, pulchritudinous, seductive, sexy, toothsome, hunky, studly (slang), arresting, eye-catching, flamboyant, flashy, glossy, showstopping, showy, slick, snazzy, splashy, striking, zingy, photogenic, telegenic
   opposite: grotesque, hideous, homely, ill-favored, plain, ugly, unaesthetic, unattractive, unbeautiful, uncomely, uncute, unhandsome, unlovely, unpleasing, unpretty, unsightly
   near: abhorrent, abominable, bad, disagreeable, disgusting, dreadful, foul, frightful, ghastly, horrible, loathsome, nasty, nauseating, objectionable, offensive, repellent, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, shocking, sickening, terrible, vile, unappealing, unappetizing, unimposing, unpleasant, unprepossessing, frumpish, frumpy, unbecoming, unshapely

2. having or showing elegance

   "the glass-topped table was a handsome addition to the room"

   similar: classy, courtly, elegant, fine, graceful, majestic, refined, stately, tasteful
   related: august, baronial, gallant, glorious, grand, heroic, imposing, lavish, luxurious, magnificent, monumental, noble, ornate, proud, regal, rich, royal, splendid, superb, artful, genteel, polished, sophisticated, classic, conservative, exquisite, quiet, restrained, simple, understated, aristocratic, patrician, à la mode, chic, fashionable, in, modish, posh, sharp, sleek, smart, snappy, stylish, swagger, swank, affected, grandiose, ostentatious, pretentious, recherché
   opposite: dowdy, graceless, inelegant, styleless, tasteless, unfashionable, unhandsome, unstylish
   near: cheesy, coarse, crude, flamboyant, flashy, garish, gaudy, glitzy, grotesque, loud, raffish, splashy, tacky, tawdry, ticky-tacky, rough-edged, rough-hewn, rude, trashy, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unpolished, unrefined, vulgar

3. of a size greater than average of its kind

   "earns a handsome salary as senior vice president of the firm"

   similar: big, biggish, boxcar, bulky, considerable, goodly, grand, great, hefty, hulking, husky, large, largish, outsize, oversize, sizable, substantial, tidy, voluminous
   related: astronomical, Brobdingnagian, bumper, Bunyanesque, cavernous, colossal, cosmic, cyclopean, elephantine, enormous, galactic, gargantuan, gigantic, gross, hellacious, herculean, heroic, Himalayan, huge, humongous, immense, jumbo, king-size, leviathan, major, mammoth, massive, monolithic, monstrous, monumental, mountainous, pharaonic, prodigious, staggering, stupendous, super, super-duper, supersized, titanic, tremendous, vast, vasty, walloping, whacking, whopping, excessive, exorbitant, extravagant, extreme, immoderate, inordinate, abundant, ample, appreciable, copious, plentiful, fat, thick, capacious, commodious, roomy, spacious
   opposite: bantam, dinky, dwarf, dwarfish, little, puny, shrimpy, small, smallish, undersized
   near: diminutive, half-pint, infinitesimal, Lilliputian, little bitty, microminiature, microscopic, mini, miniature, minuscule, minute, pint-size, pocket-size, pygmy, teensy, teensy-weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee, petite, slender, slight, slim, thin

4. sufficiently large in size, amount, or number to merit attention

   "real estate developers realized a handsome profit on that deal"

   similar: biggish, considerable, good, goodly, healthy, largish, major, respectable, significant, sizable, substantial, substantive, tidy
   related: big, bulky, hefty, hulking, outsize, oversize, voluminous, astronomical, bumper, colossal, elephantine, enormous, gigantic, great, herculean, huge, immense, jumbo, king-size, mammoth, massive, monstrous, monumental, prodigious, titanic, tremendous, whopping
   opposite: inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, insubstantial, negligible, nominal
   near: measly, minute, paltry, petty, picayune, picayunish, piddling, puny, trifling, trivial, unimportant, marginal, meager, slight, little, small, tiny, undersized, bitty, diminutive, miniature, pint-size, pocket, pocket-size, pygmy, smallish