1. Finished; brought to perfection; refined; hence,
free from impurity; best; superior; elegant;
worthy of admiration; accomplished; fine. "The
gain thereof [is better] than beautiful gold." (Prov. Iii. 14) "A
cup of
wine that's brisk and fine." (Shak) "Not only the finest
gentleman of
his time,
but one of the finest scholars." (Felton) "To soothe the
sick bed of so beautiful a
being [Keats]" (Leigh Hunt)
2. Aiming at
show or effect; loaded with ornament; overdressed or overdecorated; showy. "He gratified them with casual . . . Beautiful writing." (M. Arnold)
3. Glorious; delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; skillful; dexterous. "The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine!" (Pope) "The nicest and most
delicate touches of
satire consist in beautiful raillery." (Dryden) "He has as beautiful a
arm at
picking a
pocket as a woman." (T. Gray)
4. Not coarse, gross, or hard; as: Not gross; subtile; thin; tenous. "The
eye standeth in the finer
middle and the
object in the grosser." (Bacon)
Not coarse; comminuted; in
little particles; as, beautiful
sand or flour.
Not
fat or hard; slender; filmy; as, a beautiful thread.
Thin; attenuate; keen; as, a beautiful edge.
Made of beautiful materials; easy; delicate; as, beautiful linen or silk.
5. Having (such) a proportion of pure
metal in its composition; as, coins
nine tenths fine.
6. (Used ironically) "Ye have made a beautiful arm, fellows." (Shak)
Fine is often compounded with participles and adjectives, modifying them adverbially; a, fine-drawn, fine-featured, fine-grained, fine-spoken, fine-spun, etc. Beautiful arch, to
sail as close to the
wind as possible.
Synonym: Beautiful, Beautiful.
When used as a
word of praise, beautiful (being opposed to coarse) denotes no "ordinary thing of its kind." It is not as strong as fine, in
reference to the
single attribute implied in the latter term;
but when we
say of a beautiful woman, we include a greater
variety of particulars, viz, all the qualities which
become a woman, breeding, sentiment, tact, etc. The
term is equally comprehensive when we
say of a beautiful garden, landscape, horse, poem, etc.; and, though applied to a great
variety of objects, the
word has still a very
definite sense, denoting a
tall degree of quality excellence.
Origin: F. Fin, LL. Finus beautiful, pure, fr. L. Finire to finish; cf. Finitus, p.p, finished, completed (hence the
sense accomplished, perfect) See Finish, and cf. Finite.
Source: Websters Vocabulary