Single word for "pleasant to look at"

Question

Consider:

It is pleasant to look at.

So pleasant that you do not want to let it wander out of your sight.

What would be a word for pleasant to look at?

Something that's pleasant to my eyes... as said by @Mysti Sinha - eyesome.

You can consider picturesque but it is usually used for places. For people, there are words like attractive, beautiful etc. Please clarify your context and include your research. — ermanen, Mar 05 '15 at 17:43
Right. When I read the title, I immediately thought "what's wrong with beautiful?" Also I wonder why none of the answers mentions this. — Mr Lister, Mar 06 '15 at 06:58

score 23 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 05 '15 at 17:44

23

You could call it captivating. Merriam-Webster defines captivate as "to attract and hold the attention of (someone) by being interesting, pretty, etc."

answered Mar 05 '15 at 17:44

Nicole

11,828

It's pretty good, but it's also a very strong one. It sort of means that you cannot help but to look at it. Not just and not necessarily pleasant though. An accident could be captivating. – Arc Mar 08 '15 at 01:41
1

OP is looking for something that means "so pleasant that you do not want to let it wander out of your sight," so it seems like a strong word is called for. – Nicole Mar 08 '15 at 04:11

score 19 · Answer 2 · edited Mar 05 '15 at 19:20

19

If you need a word, this adjective is archaic and it is:

eyesome - (archaic, often poetic) visually attractive. (MW)

There are also less-archaic terms:

sightly - Pleasing to see; visually appealing. (TFD)

eye candy - A person who is or people considered highly attractive to look at. (TFD)

Examples:

It is pleasant to look at. (sightly)

He is pleasant to look at. (eye candy)

edited Mar 05 '15 at 19:20

Cat

579

answered Mar 05 '15 at 17:52

Misti

13,774

8

'Eyesome' doesn't sound too idiomatic. 'Pulchritudinous' now ... – Edwin Ashworth Mar 05 '15 at 18:41
what is TFD and MW? – sites Mar 06 '15 at 23:17
oh I see The Free Dictionary and Merrian Webster – sites Mar 06 '15 at 23:19
3

eyesome was Dictionary.com's word of the day yesterday. The definition provided was "pleasant to look at"--word-for-word identical to the definition requested by the OP. – geometrian Mar 07 '15 at 00:03
Er.....you might want to mention that "eye-candy" is probably demeaning in some contexts. – Kyle Strand Mar 08 '15 at 10:14

score 19 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 05 '15 at 21:37

19

comely - pleasing in appearance; attractive; fair

answered Mar 05 '15 at 21:37

Bill Boquist

191

1

But only for a woman, according to MW. – Stephie Mar 05 '15 at 22:48
2

Not according to M-W Unabridged... – Gnawme Mar 05 '15 at 23:09
There's got to be a good joke there. – Kyle Strand Mar 08 '15 at 10:13

score 15 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 05 '15 at 23:37

15

"Appealing" is "pleasant to look at" summarized in one word.

answered Mar 05 '15 at 23:37

Michelle McCoy

159

score 12 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 06 '15 at 07:27

12

Why not simply beautiful? (pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically)

answered Mar 06 '15 at 07:27

Denis de Bernardy

1,950

3

Why not? To me it's an overused, therefore common word with a diluted meaning. It also fails to carry any connotation of compulsion or steering of behaviour, as in "you do not want to let it wander out of your sight." A sunset, a flower arrangement, or a passerby might be beautiful; while a rare viewer might pause, stare, and/or become slackjawed, this is unusual. Certainly others will casually note the beauty but move on immediately. – Anguish Languish Mar 08 '15 at 03:21
1

@AnguishLanguish beautifully put. – Kyle Strand Mar 08 '15 at 10:15

score 9 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 05 '15 at 19:20

9

"Handsome" has exactly the meaning you require:

adjective

having an attractive, well-proportioned, and imposing appearance suggestive of health and strength; good-looking: "a handsome man; a handsome woman."

having pleasing proportions, relationships, or arrangements, as of shapes, forms, or colors; attractive:

... but seems to be quite an old-fashioned word these days. It might be useful to you depending on the context.

answered Mar 05 '15 at 19:20

Marv Mills

11,249

"What a handsome table!" I like this. – GEdgar Mar 06 '15 at 15:00

score 8 · Answer 7 · answered Mar 06 '15 at 01:42

8

Anything wrong with plain old 'pretty'?

answered Mar 06 '15 at 01:42

see sharper

249

3

pretty has a connotation of pureness, cute or maybe feminine, innocence, or cleanliness, at least for me. – Arc Mar 08 '15 at 01:45

score 7 · Answer 8 · answered Mar 05 '15 at 18:03

7

While not strictly limited to physical appearance, consider winsome

Attractive or appealing in appearance or character: a winsome smile

Oxford Dictionaries Online

answered Mar 05 '15 at 18:03

bib

72,782

3

Best of all, readers not familiar with this rather archaic word will simply read it as "full of win". :-) – R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE Mar 07 '15 at 03:46

score 6 · Answer 9 · edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

6

One of these might do:

fetching - pleasant or attractive.

attractive - pleasing or appealing.

... but neither quite carries the strong connotation of irresistibility (not wanting it out of sight) that was requested.

edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

Community

1

answered Mar 05 '15 at 23:01

Anguish Languish

333

score 4 · Answer 10 · answered Mar 06 '15 at 12:20

4

Mesmerize
: to hold the attention of (someone) entirely : to interest or amaze (someone) so much that nothing else is seen or noticed

transitive verb
1 : to subject to mesmerism; also : hypnotize
2 : spellbind

[ Merriam-Webster online ]

Therefore, mesmerizing, spellbinding, and maybe, at the risk of falling asleep, hypnotic; more so about the impact of what is "delightful for beauty, harmony, or grace" upon the eye of the beholder so to speak.

answered Mar 06 '15 at 12:20

2

The very special flavour of mesmerizing is in the phrase so much that nothing else is seen or noticed. And that's not what PO asked for. – Alfe Mar 06 '15 at 15:04
Also thought of awesome in its original sense, but there's a modern hurdle of sorts with that indeed and the spin is a bit different i.e. fear. Awe-inspiring is most likely too strong, awesome too weak, in awe not an adjective, awed the verb. See also this etc. – Mar 07 '15 at 00:45
You mix objective facts with subjective appearances while language does honour that distinction. »Mesmerizing« may be objectively analog to »beautiful« (i. e. when the reaction of the subject is of no concern to that objective property) but subjectively »beautiful« leaves the affected individual with more freedom concerning the reactions than »mesmerizing«. It is not in all contexts that this distinction is unimportant. – Alfe Mar 09 '15 at 01:09
2

I would just add that 'mesmerizing' also implies a reduction of the freedom of reaction for the beholder (and that might not be intended, at least it isn't by the words of the question). Otherwise your answer is a valuable contribution, so no problem with it. – Alfe Mar 09 '15 at 09:26
1

@Alfe I understand. I will upvote your comment to achieve that. Imho someone can indeed be mesmerized against his will so to speak; someone can also be mesmerized by beauty - or something else too. One can cause the other but not necessarily. In so many words I don't think that beauty implies captivation per se. Thank you! – Mar 10 '15 at 00:21

score 2 · Answer 11 · answered Mar 06 '15 at 00:58

2

The phrase "aesthetically pleasing", though not a single word, denotes an object that is pleasant to look at in a generic visual sense without all the connotations of physical attractiveness, comeliness, etc. that some of the other suggestions carry.

That said, I do think there is a slight connotation of "artistic beauty" in the phrase.

answered Mar 06 '15 at 00:58

jsdalton

121

I would like to add that for me, something can be aesthetically pleasing without having artistic beauty. However I'm not sure I could quantify the distinction, as for me, aesthetics are not very quantifiable. – L0j1k Mar 06 '15 at 22:24

score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Mar 05 '15 at 23:05

Wholesome, Lush, perhaps salubrious? Though the last is used mainly for a product, it could be said being with someone is healthful or health-giving whether it is for companionship or just eye-candy on the arm, thus the connection would be salubrious. And modern lingo may lead to such quaint items as bitchin' or (as a feminine descriptor) leslie.

score 1 · Answer 13 · answered Mar 06 '15 at 22:55

1

"fine"

can be applied to attractive partner, glassware, textiles, precious metals, paintings, sculptures, architecture, etc

answered Mar 06 '15 at 22:55

MetaGuru

162

score -1 · Answer 14 · answered Mar 05 '15 at 19:28

-1

Another one is "Eyeful," which means someone/something that is visually stunning. However, it is a noun and is considered informal (according to the New Oxford American Dictionary).

Usage: The vase was quite an eyeful.

answered Mar 05 '15 at 19:28

ColonelHedgehog

125

6

I see that the dictionary doesn't mention it explicitly, but in my experience calling something an "eyeful" is not necessarily a compliment; it marks something as unusual in a way that draws attention, but it doesn't have to be in a way that is attractive or pleasing. – Hellion Mar 05 '15 at 19:52
There are various adjectives that can be used to reflect it as positive. It mainly requires context. – ColonelHedgehog Mar 05 '15 at 19:55
Then you need to present such an example. I think it has strictly negative connotations. – curiousdannii Mar 06 '15 at 22:13
@curiousdannii Not strictly negative. I got quite an eyeful when I walked into the bathroom and saw the model my wife had befriended during fashion week stepping out of the shower. When my wife came home, I got quite an earful about it too. Highly context-dependent. – HopelessN00b Mar 08 '15 at 02:41

Single word for "pleasant to look at"

14 Answers14