Aesthetic

Full Definition of AESTHETIC

1

a : of, relating to, or dealing with aesthetics or the beautiful <aesthetic theories>

b : artistic <a work of aesthetic value>

c : pleasing in appearance : attractive <easy-to-use keyboards, clear graphics, and other ergonomic and aesthetic features — Mark Mehler>

2

: appreciative of, responsive to, or zealous about the beautiful; also : responsive to or appreciative of what is pleasurable to the senses

— aes·thet·i·cal·ly also es·thet·i·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See aesthetic defined for English-language learners

See aesthetic defined for kids

Variants of AESTHETIC

aes·thet·ic also es·thet·ic \es-ˈthe-tik, is-, British usually ēs-\ or aes·thet·i·cal or es·thet·i·cal \-ti-kəl\

Examples of AESTHETIC

My generation has an annoying penchant for treating luxuries as necessities and turning guilty pleasures into aesthetic and even moral touchstones. —Terrence Rafferty, GQ, October 1997
Whereas the essence of Proust's aesthetic position was contained in the deceptively simple yet momentous assertion that “a picture's beauty does not depend on the things portrayed in it.” —Alain de Botton, How Proust Can Change Your Life, 1997
I suppose that jazz listening and prizefight watching are my two most passionate avocations, and this is largely so because the origins of my aesthetic urges are in the black working class. —Gerald Early, “The Passing of Jazz's Old Guard: …”, in The Best American Essays 1986, Elizabeth Hardwick & Robert Atwan, editors, 1986
[+]more [-]hide

Origin of AESTHETIC

German ästhetisch, from New Latin aestheticus, from Greek aisthētikos of sense perception, from aisthanesthai to perceive — more at audible

First Known Use: 1798

Related to AESTHETIC

Synonyms: beautiful (also esthetic or aesthetical or esthetical), attractive, beauteous, bonny (also bonnie) [chiefly British], comely, cute, drop-dead, fair, fetching, good, good-looking, goodly, gorgeous, handsome, knockout, likely, lovely, lovesome, pretty, ravishing, seemly, sightly, stunning, taking, well-favored

Antonyms: grotesque, hideous, homely, ill-favored, plain, ugly, unaesthetic, unattractive, unbeautiful, uncomely, uncute, unhandsome, unlovely, unpleasing, unpretty, unsightly

Other Fine Arts Terms

Gothic, baroque, bas-relief, limn, oeuvre, pastiche, rococo, sfumato

Rhymes with AESTHETIC

ascetic, athletic, balletic, bathetic, cometic, cosmetic, eidetic, emetic, frenetic, gametic, genetic, hermetic, limnetic, magnetic, mimetic, noetic, Ossetic, paretic, pathetic, phenetic, phonetic, phyletic, poetic, prophetic, prosthetic, pyretic, splenetic, syncretic, syndetic, synthetic, tonetic, Venetic

Full Definition of AESTHETIC

1

plural but sing or plural in constr : a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste and with the creation and appreciation of beauty

2

: a particular theory or conception of beauty or art : a particular taste for or approach to what is pleasing to the senses and especially sight <modernist aesthetics> <staging new ballets which reflected the aesthetic of the new nation — Mary Clarke & Clement Crisp>

3

plural : a pleasing appearance or effect : beauty <appreciated the aesthetics of the gemstones>

See aesthetic defined for English-language learners