cute

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Pretty and attractive, especially in a small, sweet way.

   They adopted a cute little puppy from the shelter.

2. 2
   adj

   Sexually attractive or good-looking (informal).

   She thinks the new guy at work is really cute.

3. 3
   adj

   Trying too hard to be charming or clever, in an annoying way.

   Don't get cute with me; just answer the question.

Simplified etymology

Cute arose in the 18th century as a shortened form of acute and originally meant “clever” or “shrewd.” Its familiar sense “attractive or pretty” developed in American English in the late 19th century.

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.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary