pretty

pret|ty¹ W3S2 [ˈprıti] adv [+ adjective/adverb] spoken

1.) fairly or more than a little

▪ I'm pretty sure he'll say yes.

▪ She still looks pretty miserable.

see usage note ↑rather

2.) very

▪ Dinner at Luigi's sounds pretty good to me.

3.) pretty well/much

almost completely

▪ He hit the ball pretty well exactly where he wanted it.

▪ The guard left us pretty much alone.

▪ They're all pretty much the same.

4.) pretty nearly also pretty near AmE

almost

▪ The shock of Pat's death pretty near killed Roy.

→be sitting pretty at ↑sit

pretty ²

pretty² W3S3 adj comparative prettier superlative prettiest

[: Old English; Origin: prAttig 'tricky', from prAtt 'trick']

1.) a woman or child who is pretty has a nice, attractive face

▪ a pretty little girl

▪ Maria looks much prettier with her hair cut short.

see usage note ↑beautiful

2.) something that is pretty is pleasant to look at or listen to but is not impressive

▪ a pretty dress

▪ The tune is pretty.

▪ What a pretty little garden!

3.) not a pretty sight

very unpleasant to look at - sometimes used humorously

▪ After a night's drinking, Al was not a pretty sight.

4.) not just a pretty face

spoken used humorously to say that someone is intelligent, when people think this is surprising

▪ I'm not just a pretty face, you know!

5.) come to a pretty pass

old-fashioned used to say that a very bad situation has developed

▪ Things have come to a pretty pass , if you can't say what you think without causing a fight.

6.) cost a pretty penny

old-fashioned to cost a lot of money

7.) pretty as a picture

old-fashioned very pretty

>prettily adv

▪ Charlotte sang very prettily.

>prettiness n [U]