Difference Between Pretty & Beautiful

Pretty vs Beautiful

Pretty and Beautiful are often used interchangeably to express appreciation, which can make it difficult to distinguish between the two. In the English language, there are many words for expressing appreciation, and their boundaries often overlap. When discussing the words beautiful and pretty, the same rules apply. However, to identify the differences, one can consider beautiful as pleasing the senses, whereas pretty refers to attractiveness in a delicate or endearing way. This article attempts to highlight the differences between the two words through a description of each. Both pretty and beautiful are adjectives.

What does Beautiful mean?

Beautiful can be defined as pleasing the senses or as excellent. The word beautiful is often associated not only with people but also with objects. When referring to individuals, we use it for women and girls. For example:
She looks absolutely beautiful in that dress.
This implies that the woman is very attractive and pleasant to look at. It also suggests a sense of beauty that transcends mere physicality and even includes the woman’s personality. However, it is interesting to note that we rarely use beautiful for men. Instead of the word beautiful, we tend to use the word handsome when referring to men.
The word beautiful is also used to refer to other objects to express that it is pleasant. For example, when we say, the scenery looks breathtakingly beautiful, this once again highlights that it pleases the senses and is wonderful to look at. If we say ‘her performance was beautiful,’ this suggests that the performance was excellent. So, the word beautiful can be used in different situations to refer to various objects and people.

What does Pretty mean?

Just like the word beautiful, the word pretty is also used to appreciate the beauty of someone or something. It can be defined as attractive in a delicate way. We tend to use the word pretty mostly with young girls and babies, rather than with women. For example:
Have you seen that girl? She looks really pretty.
This suggests that the person looks attractive, but unlike in the case of beautiful, it is more delicate and does not capture the real essence of beauty. If the word pretty is used for a woman, this suggests that she is attractive but cannot be considered truly beautiful.
We also use the word pretty for accessories and similar objects. For example, if someone says:
That blue necklace is really pretty.
This suggests that it looks nice. We can also use the word pretty for other accessories such as bangles, earrings, etc.

What is the difference between Pretty and Beautiful?

• The word beautiful can be defined as pleasing the senses or as excellent.
• The word pretty can be defined as attractive in a delicate way.
• The difference is that while beautiful captures the meaning of beauty not only in terms of physical appearance but an overall sense of pleasing nature, the word pretty suggests a sense of attractiveness, which is rather delicate and not to the same degree as in beautiful.