cute


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cute

attractive in a dainty way; pleasingly pretty: a cute puppy; affectedly clever; precious: too old to be acting so unbearably cute
Not to be confused with:
coot – a dark gray aquatic bird; a foolish person: He’s just an old coot.
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

cute

 (kyo͞ot)
adj. cut·er, cut·est
1.
a. Attractive or pretty in a youthful or dainty way: a cute puppy; a child wearing a cute outfit.
b. Sexually attractive; good-looking: a cute boyfriend.
2. Obviously contrived to charm; precious: "[He] mugs so ferociously he kills the humor—it's an insufferably cute performance" (David Ansen).
3. Clever or witty, especially in an impertinent or evasive way, as in falsely suggesting that one is ignorant about the matter at hand.

[Short for acute.]

cute′ly adv.
cute′ness n.
Word History: Cute was originally a shortened form of acute in the sense "keenly perceptive or discerning, shrewd." In this sense cute is first recorded in a dictionary published in 1731. Probably cute came to be used as a term of approbation for things demonstrating acuteness or ingenious design, and so it went on to develop its own sense of "pretty, fetching."
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cute

(kjuːt)
adj
1. appealing or attractive, esp in a pretty way
2. chiefly informal US sexually attractive
3. informal affecting cleverness or prettiness
4. clever; shrewd
[C18 (in the sense: clever): shortened from acute]
ˈcutely adv
ˈcuteness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cute

(kyut)

adj. cut•er, cut•est,
adv. adj.
1. attractive, esp. in a dainty way; pleasingly pretty.
2. charmingly attractive.
3. affectedly pretty or clever; precious.
4. mentally keen; clever; shrewd.
adv.
5. Informal. in a cute manner; cutely.
[1615–25; aph. variant of acute]
cute′ly, adv.
cute′ness, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.cute - attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness; "a cute kid with pigtails"; "a cute little apartment"; "cunning kittens"; "a cunning baby"
attractive - pleasing to the eye or mind especially through beauty or charm; "a remarkably attractive young man"; "an attractive personality"; "attractive clothes"; "a book with attractive illustrations"
2.cute - obviously contrived to charm; "an insufferably precious performance"; "a child with intolerably cute mannerisms"
artful - marked by skill in achieving a desired end especially with cunning or craft; "the artful dodger"; "an artful choice of metaphors"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

cute

adjective appealing, sweet, attractive, engaging, charming, delightful, lovable, winsome, winning, cutesy (informal, chiefly U.S.) a cute little baby
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
جَذَّابحاد الذَكاءذَكي، لطيف، حاد الذِّهن
roztomilývychytralýrozkošný
sødnuttetsmartfiffigkær
nättisöpösuloinen
dražestan
agyafúrtaranyoscukiédeshelyes
sætur, indællsniîugur
かわいい
귀여운
sąmojingas
apķērīgsgudrspievilcīgsviltīgs
drăgălaşdrăguţ
prikupenprivlačen
gulligsöt
น่ารัก
đáng yêu

cute

[kjuːt] ADJ
1. (= sweet) [face, animal, baby] → lindo, precioso, mono, rico; [person] → guapo
isn't he cute! (= baby) → ¡qué lindo es!, ¡qué mono or rico es!; (= pet) → ¡qué lindo es!, ¡qué mono or rico es!, ¡es una monada or monería!; (= man) → ¡es guapísimo!
2. (esp US) (= clever) → listo, vivo (LAm); (= affecting prettiness etc) → presumido
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

cute

[ˈkjuːt] adj
(= sweet) [child, kitten, picture] → mignon(ne), adorable
(= attractive) [man, woman] → mignon(ne)
(= clever) → malin/igne
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

cute

adj (+er)
(inf: = sweet) → süß, niedlich
(esp US inf: = clever) idea, gadgetdufte (inf), → prima (inf); (= shrewd) person, moveschlau, gerissen, clever (inf); that was pretty cute of himdas hat er ganz schön schlau hingekriegt (inf)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

cute

[kjuːt] adj (esp Am) (sweet) → carino/a, grazioso/a; (clever) → furbo/a, astuto/a
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

cute

(kjuːt) adjective
1. (especially American) attractive or pleasing in any way. a cute baby.
2. cunningly clever. You think you're pretty cute, don't you!
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

cute

جَذَّاب roztomilý sød niedlich χαριτωμένος mono söpö mignon dražestan carino かわいい 귀여운 schattig søt ładny encantador милый gullig น่ารัก sevimli đáng yêu 可爱的
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
The Alderman laughed, and winked; for he was a merry fellow, Alderman Cute. Oh, and a sly fellow too!
The little un takes after my side, now: she's twice as 'cute as Tom.
For some years Wilson had been privately at work on a whimsical almanac, for his amusement--a calendar, with a little dab of ostensible philosophy, usually in ironical form, appended to each date; and the judge thought that these quips and fancies of Wilson's were neatly turned and cute; so he carried a handful of them around one day, and read them to some of the chief citizens.
Then he began to get real cute, and held out his wee hands to me and I began to get fond of him.
She says it looked cute, all right all right, but it made her sick.
'He will be a 'cute man yet,' resumed the locksmith.
Cunning old dog is Pearson, as cute and as greedy as a Rio shark.
But where's the use o' talking?--you can't think what goes on in a 'cute man's inside."
And then, these exchanges, they don't answer when you have 'cute jockeys to deal with.
"An' you'd be surprised ter find how cute it works, ma'am, too," maintained Nancy, with almost the eagerness of Pollyanna herself.
"Nay, I don't know," said Adam; "the squire's 'cute enough but it takes something else besides 'cuteness to make folks see what'll be their interest in the long run.
Vyse is an ideal bachelor.' I was very cute, I asked him what he meant.