Meaning of the word handsome

Last Updated:
12 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

• 1
  handsome
  
  

  1) краси́вый, ста́тный

  2) ще́дрый

  3) значи́тельный;

  Англо-русский словарь Мюллера > handsome

• 2
  handsome
  
  

  Large English-Russian phrasebook > handsome

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  handsome
  
  

  Персональный Сократ > handsome

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  handsome
  
  

  1. [ʹhæns(ə)m]

  as handsome as a young Greek god — прекрасен, как молодой бог

  handsome flower [dress] — изящный цветок [-ое платье]

  handsome woman — статная /интересная, импозантная/ женщина

  2. 1) значительный, большой

  to make a handsome fortune — сколотить крупное /изрядное/ состояние

  2) большой, крупный

  3. щедрый, благородный

  handsome gesture — широкий /красивый/ жест

  handsome is that /as/ handsome does — ≅ судят не по словам, а по делам

  2. [ʹhæns(ə)m]

  диал.

  щедро

  НБАРС > handsome

• 5
  handsome
  
  

  [‘hæn(d)səm]

  прил.

  1)

  Syn:

  б) статный, солидный, представительный

  She was a handsome woman — not a conventional beauty, but her attractiveness had something perceived as masculine. — Она была статной женщиной, но не классической красавицей — в её привлекательности было что-то маскулинное.

  2) любезный, обходительный

  Syn:

  3)

  а) значительный, большой

  б) обильный, щедрый

  Syn:

  4)

  ;

  разг.

  суровый, строгий

  They treated him to a handsome drubbing. — Они задали ему хорошую трёпку.

  5)

  амер.

  ловкий, проворный, искусный

  He did some handsome maneuvers on the skating rink. — Катаясь на катке, он сделал несколько искусных манёвров.

  ••

  Handsome is as handsome does. — Судят по делам, а не по внешности.

  Англо-русский современный словарь > handsome

• 6
  handsome
  
  

  [ˈhænsəm]

  handsome значительный; a handsome sum изрядная сумма handsome красивый, статный handsome щедрый; handsome is that handsome does посл. = судят не по словам, a по делам handsome щедрый; handsome is that handsome does посл. = судят не по словам, a по делам handsome значительный; a handsome sum изрядная сумма

  English-Russian short dictionary > handsome

• 7
  handsome
  
  

  1. a красивый; статный

  2. a значительный, большой

  3. a большой, крупный

  4. a щедрый, благородный

  5. a амер. искусный; умелый

  6. a арх. уместный

  7. adv диал. щедро

  Синонимический ряд:

  1. beautiful (adj.) attractive; beauteous; beautiful; fair; good-looking; gorgeous; lovely; pretty; pulchritudinous; ravishing; stunning; well-favored

  2. comely (adj.) admirable; aristocratic; comely; elegant; fine; good looking

  3. large (adj.) ample; considerable; full; gracious; large; magnanimous; noble; princely

  4. liberal (adj.) bounteous; bountiful; free; freehanded; generous; liberal; munificent; openhanded; open-handed; unsparing; unstinting

  5. virile (adj.) athletic; clean-cut; dapper; jaunty; robust; slick; smooth; virile; well-dressed

  Антонимический ряд:

  illiberal; ill-looking; insignificant; mean; miserly; offensive; parsimonious; penurious; poor; repulsive; small; ugly; unattractive

  English-Russian base dictionary > handsome

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  handsome
  
  

  Англо-русский синонимический словарь > handsome

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  handsome
  
  

  1) краси́вый; ста́тный

  2) ще́дрый

  The Americanisms. English-Russian dictionary. > handsome

• 10
  handsome
  
  

  [‘hæns(ə)m]

  1) Общая лексика: благородный, большой, значительный, изрядный, интересный, красивый, крупный, любезный , недурной, обильный , обходительный , порядочный, симпатичный , статный, умелый, щедрый, красивый , хороший, привлекательный

  Универсальный англо-русский словарь > handsome

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  handsome
  
  

  English-Russian combinatory dictionary > handsome

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  handsome
  
  

  adjective

  1) красивый, статный

  2) значительный; а handsome sum изрядная сумма

  3) щедрый

  handsome is that handsome does посл.

  =

  судят не по словам, а по делам

  Syn:

  beautiful

  * * *

  * * *

  * * *

  [hand·some || ‘hænsəm]
  красивый, благообразный, статный, значительный, щедрый

  * * *

  значительный

  красив

  красивый

  статный

  хорош

  хороший

  * * *

  1) а) красивый, статный (обычно о мужчине)
  б) любезный
  2) а) значительный
  б) обильный
  3) юмор.; разг. суровый

  Новый англо-русский словарь > handsome

• 13
  handsome
  
  

  [`hænsəm]

  красивый, статный

  любезный, обходительный

  значительный, большой

  обильный, щедрый

  суровый, строгий

  Англо-русский большой универсальный переводческий словарь > handsome

• 14
  handsome
  
  

  English-Russian word troubles > handsome

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  handsome
  
  

  English-Russian dictionary of technical terms > handsome

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  handsome
  
  

  значительный

  красив

  красивый

  статный

  хорош

  хороший

  English-Russian smart dictionary > handsome

• 17
  handsome sum
  
  

  Персональный Сократ > handsome sum

• 18
  handsome is that handsome does
  
  

  посл.

  ≈ человека дела красят

  After he had gone and they were alone in their bedroom Mr. and Mrs. Carter talked him over. ‘He is handsome, you can’t deny that,’ she said. ‘Handsome is as handsome does. D’you think he’s after her money?’ (W. S. Maugham, ‘Complete Short Stories’, ‘Episode’) — После того, как Фред Мэнсон ушел и мистер и миссис Картер остались одни в спальне, они заговорили о нем. — Красивый молодой человек, ничего не скажешь, — заметила миссис Картер. — Красив-то красив, да что у него на уме? Не охотится ли он за деньгами дочери?

  Large English-Russian phrasebook > handsome is that handsome does

• 19
  handsome is as handsome does
  
  

  Универсальный англо-русский словарь > handsome is as handsome does

• 20
  handsome is that handsome does
  
  

  Универсальный англо-русский словарь > handsome is that handsome does

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English handsum, hondsom, equivalent to hand +‎ -some. Compare Dutch handzaam, German Low German handsaam. The original sense was ‘easy to handle or use’, hence ‘suitable’ and ‘apt, clever’ (mid 16th century), giving rise to the current appreciatory senses (late 16th century).

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈhæn.səm/^[1] or occasionally /ˈhænd.səm/^[2]~/ˈhænt.səm/^[3]
• Rhymes: -ænsəm
• Hyphenation: hand‧some
• Homophone: Hansom (typically)

Adjective[edit]

handsome (comparative more handsome or handsomer, superlative most handsome or handsomest)

1. Having a pleasing appearance, good-looking, attractive, particularly

   • 1661–1669 (date written; Gregorian calendar)​, Samuel Pepys; Mynors Bright, transcriber, “(please specify the entry date)”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume (please specify |volume=I to X), London: George Bell & Sons […]; Cambridge: Deighton Bell & Co., published 1893–1899, →OCLC:

     I saw, I confess, some good dancing and some handsome women, which was all my pleasure.

   • 1916, On H.R. 4683, site for post-office building at Chicago, Ill, page 117:

     On the opposite side of the street, on the corner, is the city hall, a very handsome building of brick and stone.

   • 1917, Anton Chekhov, Constance Garnett, transl., The Darling and Other Stories‎^[1], Project Gutenberg, →ISBN, page 71:

     The mother, Ekaterina Pavlovna, who at one time had been handsome, but now, asthmatic, depressed, vague, and over-feeble for her years, tried to entertain me with conversation about painting. Having heard from her daughter that I might come to Shelkovka, she had hurriedly recalled two or three of my landscapes which she had seen in exhibitions in Moscow, and now asked what I meant to express by them.

   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

     At the farther end of this great lamp-lit apartment was another doorway closed in with heavy Oriental-looking curtains, quite unlike those that hung before the doors of our own rooms, and here stood two particularly handsome girl mutes, their heads bowed upon their bosoms and their hands crossed in an attitude of humble submission.

   • 2006, Richard Leviton, The Gods in Their Cities, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 44:

     Often, human mortals describe their visits to the Tuatha’s [places] in similar terms: they were great bright places, occupied by exceedingly handsome men and women, that sported wonderful crystal chairs, inexhaustible supplies of mead or ale …

   That is one handsome tree you’ve got there.

   1. (now of a man or boy) Attractively manly, having a pleasing face and overall effect.

      • 1964, Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast, page 147:

        Scott was a man then who looked like a boy with a face between handsome and pretty. He had very fair wavy hair, a high forehead, excited and friendly eyes and a delicate long-lipped Irish mouth that, on a girl, would have been the mouth of a beauty… The mouth worried you until you knew him and then it worried you more.

   2. (now of a woman) Statuesque, beautiful in a masculine or otherwise imposing way.

      She was either handsome or her uniform created a flattering effect but—being very nearsighted—he couldn’t tell from this distance.

2. Good, appealing, appropriate.

   • 2011 November 5, Phil Dawkes, “QPR 2 — 3 Man City”, in BBC Sport‎^[2]:

     City have lapped up the plaudits this season for a series of handsome wins but manager Roberto Mancini has demanded that his side also learn to grind out results when they do not play well. He now has an example to point to.

   1. (of weather) Fine, clear and bright.
      • 1808, John Pinkerton, A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in All Parts of the World, page 513:

        Sunday, the sixth, we heaved up our sheet-anchor again, the day beginning with little wind, and continued handsome weather till eight at night, when the wind came to S. S. W. and it fell a snowing.

      • 1911, Farm Chemicals, page 60:

        The story goes that James Whitcomb Riley, the poet, on a beautiful spring day, in making his way from his home to his office, was accosted by numerous friends on the way who were exclaiming most extravagantly on the beauty of the day. It was «Good morning, Mr. Riley, a fine day;» «Good morning, Mr. Riley, […] a handsome day;» […] .

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

      a handsome style

      • 1713, Henry Felton, A Dissertation on Reading the Classics and Forming a Just Style:

        Easiness and handsome address in writing.

      • 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter 2, in Emma: […], volume I, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC:

        For a few days, every morning visit in Highbury included some mention of the handsome letter Mrs. Weston had received. “I suppose you have heard of the handsome letter Mr. Frank Churchill has written to Mrs. Weston? I understand it was a very handsome letter, indeed. Mr. Woodhouse told me of it. Mr. Woodhouse saw the letter, and he says he never saw such a handsome letter in his life.”

3. Generous or noble in character.

   Handsome is as handsome does.

4. Ample; moderately large.

   Synonyms: hefty, substantial

   a handsome salary

   • 1779, Vicesimus Knox, Essays Moral and Literary:

     He […] accumulated a handsome sum of money.

5. (obsolete, said of things and people) Dexterous; skillful.

   • 1551, Ralph Robinson, Utopia (originally by Thomas More):

     That they [engines of war] be both easy to be carried and handsome to be moved and turned about.

   • 1596 (date written; published 1633)​, Edmund Spenser, A Vewe of the Present State of Irelande […], Dublin: […] Societie of Stationers, […], →OCLC; republished as A View of the State of Ireland […] (Ancient Irish Histories), Dublin: […] Society of Stationers, […] Hibernia Press, […] [b]y John Morrison, 1809, →OCLC:

     Laſtly, for a theife it is ſo handſome, as it may ſeem it was firſt invented for him

Usage notes[edit]

Deriving from its original senses of skillful, capable, deft, clever, and otherwise having things well in hand, handsome as a synonym of good-looking was initially primarily focused on the well-proportioned and noble aspect of a person embodying those positive traits. Over the course of the 19th & 20th centuries, it developed into a more general and gendered idea of male beauty distinguished from the feminine beauty thought to be implied by words like pretty, lovely, beautiful, and so on. In reference to men, it continues to have a more aesthetic and general sense than hot, manly, sexy, and similar words primarily focused on sexual attraction. In reference to women, present use of handsome can seem old fashioned; when it does appear, depending on context, it may continue the original sense of powerful or statuesque beauty or imply a mannish or otherwise unusual form of beauty. Similarly, present use of handsome for inanimate objects can seem awkward; when it does appear, it usually implies the object is well built and well proportioned.

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

• → Japanese: ハンサム

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

handsome (third-person singular simple present handsomes, present participle handsoming, simple past and past participle handsomed)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To render handsome.

References[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

• mashed on

«I give it up,» said I. «It’s because I’m so _handsome_ — we’re _all_ handsome, you know, and ❋ George Du Maurier (1865)

But the word handsome did not even approach the glory of Alec Aarronson. ❋ Judith O’Brien (1994)

But still he is not quite a — what one calls a handsome man, nor quite ❋ Unknown (2007)

I, prompted by that worst of devils, poverty, returned to the vile practice, and made the advantage of what they call a handsome face to be the relief to my necessities, and beauty be a pimp to vice. ❋ Unknown (2003)

“I’m not sure about the word handsome,” Joseph said. ❋ Sandra Gulland (2000)

If I’m going to ride what he calls the handsome, Jake thought, I’d just as soon go with plenty of company. ❋ King, Stephen, 1947- (1991)

I often reflected how my lover at the Bath, struck at the hand of God, repented and abandoned me, and refused to see me any more, though he loved me to an extreme; but I, prompted by that worst of devils, poverty, returned to the vile practice, and made the advantage of what they call a handsome face to be the relief to my necessities, and beauty be a pimp to vice. ❋ Defoe, Daniel, 1661?-1731 (1923)

Do you not know that the animal, which they call a handsome and beautiful object, is so much more formidable than the Tarantula, as those insects instil something when they touch, but this creature, without even touching, but if a person only looks at it, though from a very great distance, instils something of such potency, as to drive people mad? ❋ Unknown (1916)

Now that’s what I call a handsome mantel; and ain’t the marble kept real pretty? ❋ Florence Morse Kingsley (1898)

The young fellow would probably not have fascinated all women, as he was not what one calls a handsome man; but his features, as a whole, expressed such ardent and sympathetic life, such enthusiasm and energy, that they doubtless engaged the thoughts of the girls of his own part — those sunburnt girls of the ❋ ��mile Zola (1871)

But still he is not quite a— what one calls a handsome man, nor quite a young man neither, which might be a little excuse for him if anything could be; whereas his wife is young, and is good-looking, and is a woman — which is the greatest thing after all. ‘ ❋ Charles Dickens (1841)

It seems to me that I have never yet seen what I call a handsome man, whose features had not a certain sweet gravity, a sort of melancholy defiance, in them which neutralized the effect of any effeminacy which mere beauty must have had; and imparted to them ❋ William Gilmore Simms (1838)

«Bravo!» exclaimed another, «that’s what I call handsome; let’s all kiss him, ladies.» ❋ Frederick Marryat (1820)

God, repented and abandoned me, and refused to see me any more, though he loved me to an extreme; but I, prompted by that worst of devils, poverty, returned to the vile practice, and made the advantage of what they call a handsome face to be the relief to my necessities, and beauty be a pimp to vice. ❋ Daniel Defoe (1696)

I believe «handsome» is code for «they’ll originally but heads but be contemplating an affair by Sweeps.» ❋ Unknown (2009)

eg. Kelvin [Chua] [Yao] [Hui] ❋ Ruud (2004)

girl 1: omg that guy over there is so [hawt]. i’d definately [go there]
girl 2: actually, i’d say he was quite handsomegirl 1: where did you come from, the middle ages?
girl 2: …no. i just prefer not to [objectify] people ❋ Slightly Off-centered (2007)

[Wow], he is too handsome. ❋ Brittany-Ghetto Princess (2003)

[Grandma]:Oh but hes such a handsome boy.
Guy:[Oh really]!? and here I thought he was just a [tubby] little fucker ^-^ ❋ Plastic Soccer Trophy (2006)

[Newton’s] universe, actor Martin Donovan, a [Phillipe] [Patek] watch, polo horses, did I mention actor Martin Donovan? these things are handsome. ❋ Crinklydink (2010)

“Omg who is that handsome boy?”
“Oh, [he’s] [Hwang Hyunjin] from [Stray Kids]!” ❋ Gayminsung (2021)

[What’s up], handsome? [How’ve] [ya] been? ❋ Morty6 (2012)

person 1: [do you] ever see [David] with a girl?
[person 2]: no, he’s so handsome ❋ Troughable (2011)

[Jon] is handsome, attractive, charming, [hott], sexy, and wonderful! [I love him]! ❋ ASS (2005)

Ang gwapo talaga ni Cyril!
[Grabe], si John Cyril, sobrang pogi!
Omg, John Cyril [Natividad] [Arevalo]. u so pogi, why u so handsome po? :(( ❋ Your Bb Forever (2021)