pretty

A1 · Beginner Informal

adv. to a medium degree; quite but not extremely.

adv. a degree adverb indicating a moderate but significant extent; often functions as a softener or, through meiosis, as an intensifier.

日本語:結構※

“The exam was pretty difficult, but I think I passed.”

“The results were pretty impressive considering the team had only three weeks to prepare the entire presentation from scratch.”

C1 · Advanced Computing Technical

adj. describes computer code that is easy to read because it is organized well.

adj. referring to source code that has been formatted according to standard syntax and indentation rules to improve human readability.

日本語:綺麗※

“I used a tool to make the code look pretty before sharing it.”

“The developer insisted on using a pretty-printer to ensure the nested JSON structures remained legible for the rest of the engineering team.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate

adj. a large or significant amount of something, like money.

adj. denoting a considerable or significant quantity or sum; often used with 'penny' or 'sum'.

“That new car must have cost a pretty penny.”

“The restoration of the Victorian manor cost a pretty sum, far exceeding the initial estimates provided by the contractors.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Informal

v. to make someone or something look more attractive.

v. to beautify or improve the appearance of something; usually followed by the particle 'up'.

“They tried to pretty up the old office with some new paint and plants.”

“The city council attempted to pretty up the industrial district before the international delegates arrived for the summit.”

C1 · Advanced Informal

adj. used in a sarcastic way to mean a situation is actually very bad or difficult.

adj. employed ironically to describe a situation that is actually awkward, troublesome, or unpleasant.

“Well, this is a pretty mess we've gotten ourselves into.”

“The company found itself in a pretty predicament after the main server failed during the peak holiday shopping hours.”