Pretty is used to tone down a statement and is in wide use across the whole spectrum of English. It is common in informal speech and writing but is neither rare nor wrong in serious discourse.

May 5, 2025 · BCPS Vision:Baltimore County Public Schools will be among the highest performing school systems in the nation as a result of creating, sustaining, and investing in excellence for every …

PRETTY definition: pleasing or attractive to the eye, as by delicacy or gracefulness. See examples of pretty used in a sentence.

1. To a fair degree; moderately: a pretty good student. 2. In a pretty manner; prettily or pleasingly.

If you describe someone as pretty, you mean that they are attractive. She's a very charming and very pretty girl.

Use the word pretty to describe something with a delicate and pleasant appearance. Something that’s pretty is less powerful and intimidating than something that’s beautiful, the way a pretty floral raincoat …

4 days ago · When particularly stressed, the adverb pretty serves almost to diminish the adjective or adverb that it modifies, by emphasizing that there are greater levels of intensity.

Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal ' lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and …

We can use pretty as an adverb, before an adjective or another adverb, meaning ‘quite, but not extremely’. It is informal: …

Jul 15, 2025 · Uncover the full scope of "pretty" in this comprehensive glossary entry. Delve into its evolving definitions, surprising etymology, and varied usage as an adjective, adverb, noun, and verb.