Difference Wiki

Cute vs. Pretty

The main difference between the word cute and pretty is that the word cute relates to real attractiveness and charm, and the word pretty refers to real beauty.

Key Differences

This word is mostly used in place of “beautiful.” Cute is specified with the young ones, especially kids. Pretty is mostly specified to complement the beauty of women only.
Cute is also used in many ways to endure, appreciate, and express feelings regarding love and other emotions. Conversely pretty reflect the saying that the person is satisfied with the content presented to him.
Cute is used for kids as it is pure beauty with sweetness and kindness on the flip side pretty is used to compliment the facial features only and mainly directs to the grown-up girls.
The word cute reflects the innocence and cherishes someone, which is fascinating and attractive in features, whereas the word pretty makes someone feel good looking at the first attempt.
Being cute does not necessarily mean that a person must have highly attractive features, but it considers sweetness, purity, and simplicity. On the other hand, pretty means that a person will be really beautiful in features and also has the specified inner beauty.
Samantha Walker
Jun 22, 2019

Comparison Chart

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Appealing to sight in a pretty or endearing way
Attracting delicately without being truly beautiful
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Reflects

Innocence, purity, and kindness
Beautiful features and charming looks

Used For

Young ones
Grown-up girls/women

Examples

Babies, kittens, puppies
A pretty girl
Samantha Walker
Jun 22, 2019

Cute and Pretty Definitions

Cute

Attractive or pretty in a youthful or dainty way
A cute puppy.
A child wearing a cute outfit.

Pretty

Pleasing or attractive in a graceful or delicate way.

Cute

Sexually attractive; good-looking
A cute boyfriend.
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Pretty

Clever; adroit
A pretty maneuver.

Cute

Obviously contrived to charm; precious
"[He] mugs so ferociously he kills the humor—it's an insufferably cute performance" (David Ansen).

Pretty

Very bad; terrible
In a pretty predicament.
A situation that has reached a pretty pass.

Cute

Clever or witty, especially in an impertinent or evasive way, as in falsely suggesting that one is ignorant about the matter at hand.

Pretty

Ostensibly or superficially attractive but lacking substance or conviction
Full of pretty phrases.

Cute

Possessing physical features, behaviors, personality traits or other properties that are mainly attributed to infants and small or cuddly animals; e.g. fair, dainty, round, and soft physical features, disproportionately large eyes and head, playfulness, fragility, helplessness, curiosity or shyness, innocence, affectionate behavior.
Our reaction to cute attributes is understood as the way nature ensures mammals care for their young.
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Pretty

(Informal) Considerable in size or extent
A pretty fortune.

Cute

Lovable, charming, attractive or pleasing, especially in a youthful, dainty, quaint or fun-spirited way.
Let's go to the mall and look for cute girls.

Pretty

To a fair degree; moderately
A pretty good student.

Cute

Sexually attractive or pleasing; gorgeous.
He's got such cute buns.

Pretty

In a pretty manner; prettily or pleasingly.

Cute

Affected or contrived to charm; mincingly clever; precious; cutesy.
The actor's performance was too cute for me. All that mugging to the audience killed the humor.
Don't get cute with me, boy!

Pretty

One that is pretty.

Cute

Mentally keen or discerning (See also acute)
Cute trick, but can you do it consistently?

Pretty

Pretties Delicate clothing, especially lingerie.

Cute

Evincing cleverness; surprising in its elegance or unconventionality (but of limited importance).
There's a cute alternative proof of this using lambda calculus.

Pretty

To make pretty
Pretty up the house.

Cute

Clever; sharp; shrewd; ingenious; cunning.

Pretty

Pleasant to the sight or other senses; attractive, especially of women or children.

Cute

Pleasantly attractive, in a delicate way; - said of children, young ladies, pet animals and some objects, but seldom of adults; as, a cute child; a cute kitten; a cute little house; a cute statue.

Pretty

Of objects or things: nice-looking, appealing.

Cute

Smart-alecky or impertinent; as, a cute remark.

Pretty

Fine-looking; only superficially attractive; initially appealing but having little substance; see petty.

Cute

Affectedly clever.

Pretty

Cunning; clever, skilful.

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

Pretty

(dated) Moderately large; considerable.

Cute

Obviously contrived to charm;
An insufferably precious performance
A child with intolerably cute mannerisms

Pretty

(dated) Excellent, commendable, pleasing; fitting or proper (of actions, thoughts etc.).

Pretty

(ironic) Awkward, unpleasant.

Pretty

Somewhat, fairly, quite; sometimes also (by meiosis) very.

Pretty

(dialect) Prettily, in a pretty manner.

Pretty

A pretty person; a term of address to a pretty person.

Pretty

Something that is pretty.
We'll stop at the knife store and look at the sharp pretties.

Pretty

To make pretty; to beautify

Pretty

Pleasing by delicacy or grace; attracting, but not striking or impressing; of a pleasing and attractive form a color; having slight or diminutive beauty; neat or elegant without elevation or grandeur; pleasingly, but not grandly, conceived or expressed; as, a pretty face; a pretty flower; a pretty poem.
This is the prettiest lowborn lass that everRan on the greensward.

Pretty

Moderately large; considerable; as, he had saved a pretty fortune.

Pretty

Affectedly nice; foppish; - used in an ill sense.
The pretty gentleman is the most complaisant in the world.

Pretty

Mean; despicable; contemptible; - used ironically; as, a pretty trick; a pretty fellow.

Pretty

Stout; strong and brave; intrepid; valiant.
[He] observed they were pretty men, meaning not handsome.

Pretty

In some degree; moderately; considerably; rather; almost; - less emphatic than very; as, I am pretty sure of the fact; pretty cold weather.
Pretty plainly professes himself a sincere Christian.

Pretty

Pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing;
Pretty girl
Pretty song
Pretty room

Pretty

(used ironically) unexpectedly bad;
A pretty mess
A pretty kettle of fish

Pretty

Used as an intensifier (`jolly' is used informally in Britain);
Pretty big
Pretty bad
Jolly decent of him

Cute vs. Pretty

The difference between cute and pretty is mainly based on age and perception. According to the Macmillan Dictionary, ‘cute’ means: “attractive, usually small, and easy to like.” According to the Macmillan Dictionary, ‘pretty’ means: “fairly.” The word cute reflects the innocence and charm of someone. It cherishes someone which is fascinating and attractive in features. The word pretty makes someone feel good looking at the first attempt. It is a word that expresses the feeling that “everything will be all right.” Cute is also used in many ways to endure, appreciate, and express feelings regarding love and other emotions. The word pretty reflects the saying that the person is satisfied with the content presented to him. Generally, cute is used for kids, as their features attract most people. In simple words, it is just pure beauty with sweetness and kindness. Pretty is also used to complement the facial features of beauty or outer beauty. This word is mostly used in place of “beautiful.” Cute is specified with the young ones, especially kids. Pretty is mostly specified to complement the beauty of women only. A cute person does not necessarily have splendid beauty with highly attractive features. However, sweetness, purity, and simplicity are the criteria to call a person “cute.” Pretty does not mean that a person will be really beautiful in features, but it relates to the specified inner beauty. Cute also refer to a girl who is either short or chubby or is funny in any manner. The complement pretty is closer to beautiful. It lies just above cute.

What is Cute?

According to the Macmillan Dictionary, ‘cute’ means: “attractive, usually small, and easy to like.” Mostly kids, teddy bears, puppies, and kittens are complemented as cute. Cute is the term which lies at the bottom of a series of words used to describe girls. Cute refers to more than just the outer appearance of something/someone. A cute personality describes something deeper than appearances. Cute also describes an action or even an intention. Due to the general inference we use when we address something as cute, the term has the potential to be an offensive compliment sometimes. Some women and men believe this to be a child assumed compliment. They prefer terms like ‘hot’ ‘pretty,’ or ‘handsome.’ It can also mean that a cute girl is looking adorable or funny in some manner. Maybe she is chubby and short. The word cute is also sometimes offensive because some people use the word cute to be polite as they do not want to use the terms like ugly or normal. Cute is used in association with things like babies and puppies. It indicates more than the physical appearance of someone or something. The word cute is also used to describe actions and intentions. We assign sophistication to things that we can not define as cute. Sunset is never referred to as cute. A young woman may be referred ‘cute’ by someone who defines her to be lacking in sophistication.

What is Pretty?

The word pretty refers to something ‘pleasing to the eye’ or a sense of attractiveness regarding a being. According to the Macmillan Dictionary, ‘pretty’ means: “fairly. There is a ranking in giving someone or something a compliment. The word ‘pretty’ lies above the word ‘cute’ in this ranking. Pretty is a word that people use for typically girls with above-average looks. The specific feature of the term pretty is that it tends to complement the facial characteristics and not the body. Sophistication is linked with the definition of pretty. A grown woman may be referred to as ‘pretty.’ The word pretty makes someone feel good looking at the first attempt. It is a word that expresses the feeling that “everything will be all right.” It reflects the saying that the person is satisfied with the content presented to him. Pretty is mostly used in place of “beautiful.” Pretty is mostly specified to complement the beauty of women only. Pretty does not only refer to the beauty in the appearance or features, but it relates to the specified inner beauty. It generally refers to the physical attractiveness of a girl. Pretty is the quality of being beautiful or being pleasing to look at.

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