# beauty

/ˈbjuti/ (US) · /bjˈuːti/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/beauty
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. attractive quality

noun · CEFR B1

the quality of being very pleasing to look at or listen to.

For teachers: the quality of being aesthetically pleasing to the senses or the mind. Uncountable in this general sense.

- The natural beauty of the mountains took our breath away.
- Critics often debate whether the beauty of a landscape is inherent in the terrain or merely a projection of the observer's cultural expectations.

### 2. an attractive person

noun · CEFR B2

a person, usually a woman, who is very beautiful.

For teachers: a person who is exceptionally attractive. Countable; often used in literary or slightly dated contexts.

- She was considered a great beauty in her youth.
- The portrait captured the famous beauty at the height of her social influence, before she retired from public life.

### 3. a clever advantage

noun · CEFR B2

the best or most useful part of something.

For teachers: the particular advantage, excellence, or cleverness of a specific feature or plan.

- The beauty of this plan is that it costs almost nothing.
- The beauty of the new software architecture lies in its modularity, which allows developers to update individual components without risking a total system failure.

### 4. an excellent example

noun · CEFR C1 · Informal

something that is a very good or impressive example of its kind.

For teachers: an outstanding or remarkable specimen of something. Often used for physical objects or even mistakes.

- That old car is a real beauty; it looks brand new.
- He showed me his collection of antique watches, pointing out one gold beauty that had been manufactured in the late nineteenth century.

## Examples

- The natural beauty of the mountains is breathtaking.
- The beauty of this new software is that it automatically saves your work every few seconds.
- While critics debated the technical merits of the painting, the public was simply drawn to the raw beauty of its vibrant colors and emotional depth.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.