lovely

A2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈlʌv.li/ See IPA manual

Freq #808

Meanings

1

adj
Very beautiful or attractive.

It's a lovely day and the sun is shining.
2

adj
Very pleasant or enjoyable; wonderful.

It would be lovely to have a little more money to spend.
3

adj
Kind and friendly, so that people like being around them.

Her grandmother was a lovely woman who always made you feel welcome.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

beautiful charming lovablelovesomeloving

Word family

Forms lovelierloveliesloveliestunlovely

Derived forms lovelifylovelilylovelinessunlovely

Related forms loverlylovingly

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

lovely song
a song that sounds beautiful or gives pleasure

Adjective + noun

Tongue twisters (1)

See all

Etymology

From Middle English lofly, lovely (“praiseworthy; laudatory”), equivalent to lofe + -ly. Cognate with Dutch loffelijk (“laudable, praiseworthy”), German löblich (“commendable, laudable, praiseworthy”), Swedish lovlig (“permissible”). More at lofe, love.

lofly Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# lovely

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈlʌv.li/
**Frequency rank:** 808

## Meanings
1. Very beautiful or attractive.
2. Very pleasant or enjoyable; wonderful.
3. Kind and friendly, so that people like being around them.

## Examples
- It's a lovely day and the sun is shining.
- It would be lovely to have a little more money to spend.
- Her grandmother was a lovely woman who always made you feel welcome.

## Synonyms
- beautiful
- charming
- lovable
- lovesome
- loving

## Derived Forms
- lovelify
- lovelily
- loveliness
- unlovely

## Related Forms
- loverly
- lovingly

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: lofly
- Affix: -ly - (adv.) in a manner of

## Etymology
From Middle English lofly, lovely (“praiseworthy; laudatory”), equivalent to lofe + -ly. Cognate with Dutch loffelijk (“laudable, praiseworthy”), German löblich (“commendable, laudable, praiseworthy”), Swedish lovlig (“permissible”). More at lofe, love.

## AI Etymology
Lovely comes from Middle English lofly, lovely (“praiseworthy; laudatory”), equivalent to lofe + -ly. Cognate with Dutch loffelijk (“laudable, praiseworthy”), German löblich (“commendable, laudable, praiseworthy”), Swedish lovlig (“permissible”). More at lofe, love. In present-day English its meanings include very beautiful or attractive, very pleasant or enjoyable; wonderful, and kind and friendly, so that people like being around them. Related and derived forms include loverly, lovingly, lovelify, and lovelily.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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