Link Centre Dictionary

cute

UK/kjuːt/ US/ˈkjut/ common

adjective

1.

attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness

  • “a cute kid with pigtails”
  • “a cute little apartment”
  • “cunning kittens”
  • “a cunning baby”
Synonyms
Similar
2.

obviously contrived to charm

  • “an insufferably precious performance”
  • “a child with intolerably cute mannerisms”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

Aphetic form of acute, originally meaning “keenly perceptive or discerning, shrewd” (1731). Meaning transferred to “pretty, fetching” by US students (slang) c. 1834. Meaning drifted further to describe the pleasing attraction to features usually possessed by the young.

Phrases

  • cute aggression Terms derived from cute
  • cute as a bug in a rug Terms derived from cute
  • cute as a bug's ear Terms derived from cute
  • cute as a button Terms derived from cute
  • cute as a pin Terms derived from cute
  • cute as a speckled pup Terms derived from cute
  • cute as corn Terms derived from cute
  • cute girls doing cute things Terms derived from cute

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.