handsomehand‧some /ˈhænsəm/ ●●● W3 adjective 
an extremely handsome young man Sam was tall, dark, and handsome. his handsome face b)a woman who is handsome looks attractive in a strong healthy wayRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say good-looking rather than handsome:· Her new boyfriend is really good-looking.2an animal, object, or building that is handsome looks attractive in an impressive way: a row of handsome Georgian houses3[only before noun] a handsome amount of money is large: He managed to make a handsome profit out of the deal. a handsome fee4[only before noun] a handsome gift or prize is worth a lot of money: There are some handsome prizes to be won.5[only before noun] a handsome victory is important and impressive: They won a handsome victory in the elections.—handsomely adverb: He was handsomely rewarded by the king.
WORD ORIGINhandsome
Origin:
1500-1600 handsome ‘easy to handle’ (15-17 centuries), from handEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a handsome colonial house
- a handsome gray-haired woman
- He looks really handsome in his uniform, doesn't he?
- Lena had fallen in love with a rich, handsome Frenchman.
- My brother was two years older than me, taller, and more handsome.
- Ozzie left a very handsome tip on the plate.
- Roy is still as handsome as ever.
- She received a handsome reward for finding the wallet.
- The big oil companies made a handsome profit out of the fuel crisis.
- A handsome pin tucked away in the jewelry box on my dresser is testimony to this accomplishment.
- Bobby, gay and slender and handsome, has always lived in the ghetto.
- Christina backed away from Michael, whose handsome face was twisted and distorted by hatred.
- He was a tall, handsome man who had an air of confidence about him.
- His features were regular, rather ordinary, though some might well have thought him handsome.
- The foliage is handsome and the autumn colour is relatively long lasting, yellow and gold with the odd slash of red.
- The restaurant, open only for dinner, is handsome, cast in a warm golden light.
Longman Language Activatorman
use this about a man who is nice to look at but in a fairly ordinary way: · Paul is very good-looking, but he's too arrogant.· She showed me a photo of a good-looking young soldier.
especially written use this about a man who is good-looking, especially one who is tall and looks strong: · Lena had fallen in love with a rich, handsome Frenchman.· My brother was two years older than me, taller, and more handsome.· He looks really handsome in his uniform, doesn't he?
use this about a man who is good-looking, especially in a way that makes people sexually interested in him: · He was a tall attractive man in his mid-forties.find somebody attractive: · I don't find those body-builders with huge muscles attractive at all.
especially American, spoken use this about a young man who looks nice and is sexually attractive: kind of cute spoken: · I don't know why she won't go out with him. I think he's kind of cute.
especially spoken use this to emphasize that a man is extremely attractive in a sexual way: · Look at that guy over there. Isn't he gorgeous?
especially spoken use this about a man who looks pleasant and friendly but is not extremely attractive: · I suppose he's quite nice-looking, but he's not really my type.· Chris is a nice-looking guy with a good sense of humor.
informal very attractive and strong-looking: · Have you seen the new sports instructor? He's really hunky.· The show stars hunky Kevin Sorbo as Hercules.
good-looking with strong features that are often not perfect: · Ann admired his rugged good looks.· He was solidly built and looked like a rugged quarterback.
very attractive, especially because you have a particular feature that is attractive and unusual: · He had a striking profile, with a large nose that reminded people of a Roman statue.
to be a strong-looking, attractive man - used especially in humorous descriptions: · Her husband was a fine figure of a man - tall, broad-chested and with a bushy black moustache.
good-looking and well-dressed in a way that makes people notice you - used especially in literature: · She left her family to move to Argentina with her lover, a dashing polo player.· Steve was looking very dashing in a light-coloured suit.
large numbers/amounts · She's used to working with large sums of money.· Large numbers of seabirds have been killed by pollution following the oil spillage.· A large proportion of the audience consisted of teenaged girls.
use this about rates, levels, measurements etc that are bigger than is usual or than is acceptable: · Someone on such a high salary shouldn't have to borrow money.· High levels of radiation have been reported near the nuclear plant.· I always try to avoid foods with a high fat content.
fairly large: · £1000 is a considerable sum for most people.· She receives a sizable income from her investments.· A considerable number of voters changed their minds at the last minute.· Sugar is added in considerable quantities to most soft drinks.
large enough to be useful or to have an important effect: · The survey showed that substantial numbers of 15-year-olds were already smoking twenty cigarettes a week.in substantial/significant numbers: · Women began to enter the British Parliament in significant numbers in the 1990s.a substantial/significant proportion of: · A significant proportion of drivers fail to keep to speed limits.
use this about an amount, especially of food or money, that is larger than what is needed or expected: · He heaped the plate with a generous serving of meat and potato pie.· I usually stir a generous quantity of rum into the cake mixture.· The company offers bonuses, stock options, and a generous benefit package.
use this about an amount of money someone gets or is paid that is surprisingly large: · Ozzie left a very handsome tip on the plate.· She received a handsome reward for finding the wallet.· The big oil companies made a handsome profit out of the fuel crisis.
use this about a surprisingly large amount of money, especially one that someone has to pay: · The other driver received a hefty fine for his role in the accident.· hefty admission fees· It was a $350,000 contract, plus hefty bonuses and expenses.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Sam was tall, dark, and handsome. He managed to make a handsome profit out of the deal.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
Sam was tall, dark, and handsome. He managed to make a handsome profit out of the deal.· Large blue eyes set in a long thin face give him a striking and attractive appearance.
· Her face was beautiful in the morning light.
(=big)· By the second year, the restaurant began to make a healthy profit.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· And Boy was as handsome as Chance Wayne, and he smiled as easily.· This kindly knight in greasy overalls is as handsome and charming a prince as any young maiden could wish to meet.· A handsome fellow, but not nearly as handsome as Nevil.· She was as handsome as ever, and she belonged to him.
· She often forgot how handsome Georg was, especially lately when he always seemed to have a scowl on his face.· The picture began to tremble in the hand that held it. How handsome he had been, his first friend!· Even with all this, the hollow cheeks, the scalp withered, you could still see how handsome Hugh had been.· Nor could she deny how handsome he had remained.· Strange how handsome he looked with the shadow concealing his ruined cheek a little.
· He was two years older than I, taller, more handsome, better at sport.· Sometimes in Rome, in fact every day in Rome, I have seen men more handsome than Jasper.· John had been best man; he looked so beautiful in morning dress, far more handsome than the groom.· I had never seen a face more handsome.· It was a year now since she had seen him, and he was more handsome than ever.· He was still smiling, a charming, guileless smile that made him appear even more handsome than he already was.· I only wish I were more handsome, as she's so beautiful.
· He was, she was certain, quite the most handsome man she had ever seen.· Miscellaneous Fishes Batfishes of the genus Platax are among the most handsome and majestic of marine imports.· Bernard's Bistro remains one of the most handsome rooms around.
· So elegant he was. So handsome.· Ken so handsome in the firelight and the quiet.· Oh, but he was so handsome!· He was so handsome and she did love him dearly, despite Gareth Davis.· And the gentlemen were so handsome, too, in their Hunt livery.· He was like a child, so cute, so handsome and thin.· It is a little disappointing that so handsome a book offers so breathless a review of the subject.
· Sumner was a tall, strikingly handsome man with dark hair and a beard which turned white in old age.· Both were attractive young men, but Wilfred in particular was strikingly handsome.· They were wrapped in long, midnight-blue capes that disguised most of their shapes, but their uncovered faces were strikingly handsome.· He was a strikingly handsome man, with shiny hair and dark skin and bright eyes.· Now twenty-five winters old, Joseph was a powerfully built, strikingly handsome man.· He looked so tall, so strikingly handsome in the deep blue suit and immaculate white shirt.· He was petite like herself, but strikingly handsome.
· Supposedly very handsome, and not stupid, either.· He was also very handsome and he knew it.· He was quite tall and very handsome, and I guess he was his assistant.· Andrew Manners had been an attractive child and now he was a very handsome man.· He's about forty, very handsome - and rich.· With dark hair rumpled by the wind, flushed face and those brilliantly blue eyes, he looked very handsome.· I thought him very handsome when I was seven.
NOUN· He was a handsome devil, clever and presumably extremely well off.· She said I was a handsome devil, too.
· Edgar Linton entered, his handsome face full of delight at receiving Catherine's unexpected invitation.· He was tall and thin, with a sharp handsome face, and he walked in a loose, graceful way.· Athelstan studied the extraordinarily handsome face and the beaming smile on Benedicta's.· They stood up as she approached, but there was no smile of greeting on the handsome face of the younger man.· The ruggedly handsome face looked impatient and his size was quite intimidating.· He has a strong, handsome face, and is very popular among his people.· There was a satisfied smile on his handsome face.· A dark, handsome face stayed in her mind, the present man mixed with the past dream.
· A half-paralysed white sneering fellow-rather handsome head, but eyes with a lot of lashes.· Harry Sargent had a handsome head of black hair, pale skin, and bright eyes, and affected a Byronic appearance.
· Rackam was supposedly a tall, dark-eyed, handsome man, and a great hand with the ladies.· Sumner was a tall, strikingly handsome man with dark hair and a beard which turned white in old age.· He had fine features, I thought, but he looked like every other handsome man I had ever seen.· Alastair was a tall, handsome man, who would have looked very good striding over the heather in a kilt.· One afternoon I was sitting in the Art Department office and an extremely handsome man in his late forties walked in.· Andrew Manners had been an attractive child and now he was a very handsome man.· John Kennedy was a handsome man.
· She loved the handsome prince who was soon to be crowned, and he loved her - or so she believed.· And then there was a brilliant light and the Beast turned into a handsome prince.· For tonight at least, she was Anne Mowbray, sister-in-law to the handsome prince who was soon to be crowned.· And if I had turned into a handsome prince Gillian would probably have shown me - him - the door.
· And no fewer opportunities for turning handsome profits in the process.· Another deal made while he was still in office helped net a handsome profit for his wife, Honey.· By levying tolls and taxes on the traders, the owner of the fair could make a handsome profit.· Hospitals can reap handsome profits that way.· The ship returned with a hold full of wines and a handsome profit.· Investors savvy enough to pick REITs that subsequently are taken over by other REITs stand to make handsome profits.· Ford expects handsome profits from its phone business.· They made handsome profits, just like the investors to whom Alexander spoke.
· She was a handsome woman and no mistake.· As the world knows, she is a stylish, handsome woman with an intense and intelligent manner.· Nevertheless, she was a handsome woman and very competent and Modi persuaded her to pose for him nude.· She was a handsome woman, Deborah, she was big.· Gaby, a handsome woman of 30, was a very experienced and alluring person, madly in love with Modi.· A handsome woman, with a streak of sensuality.· She came to visit Streatlam to look at the horses and I thought what a very handsome woman she was.· She was a handsome woman, grey haired like her brother.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1a)a man who is handsome looks attractive SYN good-looking: - And the poor devil can't hide a thing from her.
- Eliot has it perhaps worse than I have - poor devil.
- He loathed the sterile ritual of inspections, and this poor devil in his untimely end had saved him from that.
- He was a handsome devil, clever and presumably extremely well off.
- I know bow the poor devil feels.
- I was driving past and tried to stop this poor devil getting beaten up.
- This isn't a propitious start for him, poor devil.
- What on earth was eating the poor devil?
an extremely handsome young man Sam was tall, dark, and handsome. his handsome face b)a woman who is handsome looks attractive in a strong healthy wayRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say good-looking rather than handsome:· Her new boyfriend is really good-looking.2an animal, object, or building that is handsome looks attractive in an impressive way: a row of handsome Georgian houses3[only before noun] a handsome amount of money is large: He managed to make a handsome profit out of the deal. a handsome fee4[only before noun] a handsome gift or prize is worth a lot of money: There are some handsome prizes to be won.5[only before noun] a handsome victory is important and impressive: They won a handsome victory in the elections.—handsomely adverb: He was handsomely rewarded by the king.