What does handsome mean?

Definitions for handsome
ˈhæn səmhand·some

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word handsome.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. fine-looking, good-looking, better-looking, handsome, well-favored, well-favouredadjective

    pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion

    "a fine-looking woman"; "a good-looking man"; "better-looking than her sister"; "very pretty but not so extraordinarily handsome"- Thackeray; "our southern women are well-favored"- Lillian Hellman

  2. big, bighearted, bounteous, bountiful, freehanded, handsome, giving, liberal, openhandedadjective

    given or giving freely

    "was a big tipper"; "the bounteous goodness of God"; "bountiful compliments"; "a freehanded host"; "a handsome allowance"; "Saturday's child is loving and giving"; "a liberal backer of the arts"; "a munificent gift"; "her fond and openhanded grandfather"

Wiktionary

  1. handsomeverb

    To render handsome.

  2. handsomeadjective

    Dexterous; skillful; handy; ready; convenient; -- applied to things as persons.

  3. handsomeadjective

    Agreeable to the eye or to correct taste; having a pleasing appearance or expression; attractive.

    a handsome man; a handsome garment, house, tree, horse.

  4. handsomeadjective

    Striking, impressive and elegantly proportioned, though not typically beautiful.

  5. handsomeadjective

    Suitable or fit in action; marked with propriety and ease; graceful; becoming; appropriate.

    a handsome style, etc.

  6. handsomeadjective

    Evincing a becoming generosity or nobleness of character; liberal; generous.

  7. handsomeadjective

    Ample; moderately large.

  8. handsomeadjective

    Having a good appearance

  9. Etymology: compare handzaam.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. HANDSOMEadjective

    Etymology: handsaem, Dutch, ready, dexterous.

    For a thief it is so handsome, as it may seem it was first invented for him. Edmund Spenser.

    A great man entered by force into a peasant’s house, and, finding his wife very handsome, turned the good man out of his dwelling. Joseph Addison, Guardian.

    That easiness and handsome address in writing, which is hardest to be attained by persons bred in a meaner way, will be familiar to you. Henry Felton, on the Classicks.

  2. To Handsomeverb

    To render elegant or neat.

    Etymology: from the adjective.

    Him all repute
    For his device in handsoming a suit;
    To judge of lace he hath the best conceit. John Donne.

ChatGPT

  1. handsome

    Handsome generally refers to a man who is physically attractive in a dignified and pleasant way. It is often associated with well-proportioned features, cleanliness, and a neat appearance. Moreover, it can also refer to something large in quantity, impressive, or substantial. Additionally, in a broader sense, it can be used to describe anything that is fine or superior in quality.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Handsome

    dexterous; skillful; handy; ready; convenient; -- applied to things as persons

  2. Handsome

    agreeable to the eye or to correct taste; having a pleasing appearance or expression; attractive; having symmetry and dignity; comely; -- expressing more than pretty, and less than beautiful; as, a handsome man or woman; a handsome garment, house, tree, horse

  3. Handsome

    suitable or fit in action; marked with propriety and ease; graceful; becoming; appropriate; as, a handsome style, etc

  4. Handsome

    evincing a becoming generosity or nobleness of character; liberal; generous

  5. Handsome

    ample; moderately large

Wikidata

  1. Handsome

    Handsome is the debut album of the Ian Dury rock group Kilburn and the High-Roads. The band had apparently originally wanted to call the album No Hand Signals.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Handsome

    han′sum, adj. good-looking, well-proportioned, graceful: with dignity: liberal or noble: generous: ample.—adv. Hand′somely.—n. Hand′someness. [Hand and -some; cf. Dut. handzaam.]

Editors Contribution

  1. handsome

    A word to express the beauty in a male human being.

    We do like to complement a gentleman and affirm they are handsome.


    Submitted by MaryC on August 21, 2020  

Suggested Resources

  1. handsome

    Song lyrics by handsome -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by handsome on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. HANDSOME

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Handsome is ranked #94311 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Handsome surname appeared 194 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Handsome.

    76.2% or 148 total occurrences were Black.
    14.4% or 28 total occurrences were White.
    4.6% or 9 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    3% or 6 total occurrences were of two or more races.

British National Corpus

  1. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'handsome' in Adjectives Frequency: #690

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce handsome?

How to say handsome in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of handsome in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of handsome in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of handsome in a Sentence

  1. Greg Louganis:

    I looked up and saw this handsome man with glasses and a bow tie, i hoped that it was him. And it was.

  2. Langston Hughes:

    No woman can be handsome by the force of features alone, any more that she can be witty by only the help of speech.

  3. Dorothy Parker:

    I require three things in a man. He must be handsome, ruthless and stupid.

  4. Loni Anderson:

    He’s such a handsome chap, really, what a handsome man.

  5. Helena Ramsay:

    That's my girl, Helena Ramsay, nicholas Dworet, handsome boy.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

handsome#10000#12059#100000

Translations for handsome

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"handsome." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/handsome>.

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