Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Relating to the philosophy or theories of aesthetics.
  • adjective Of or concerning the appreciation of beauty or good taste.
  • adjective Attractive or appealing.
  • adjective Characterized by a heightened sensitivity to beauty.
  • adjective Being or relating to a work of art; artistic.
  • adjective Informal Conforming to accepted notions of good taste.
  • adjective Of or characteristic of aestheticism in the arts.
  • noun A guiding principle in matters of artistic beauty and taste; artistic sensibility.
  • noun An underlying principle, a set of principles, or a view often manifested by outward appearances or style of behavior.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or Pertaining to æsthetics; versed in æsthetics

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Concerned with beauty, artistic impact, or appearance.
  • noun The study of art or beauty.
  • noun That which appeals to the senses.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective concerning or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste
  • adjective relating to or dealing with the subject of aesthetics
  • adjective aesthetically pleasing
  • noun (philosophy) a philosophical theory as to what is beautiful

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[German ästhetisch, from New Latin aesthēticus, from Greek aisthētikos, of sense perception, from aisthēta, perceptible things, from aisthanesthai, to perceive; see au- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From German Ästhetik or French esthétique, both from Ancient Greek αἰσθητικός ("of sense perception"), from αἰσθάνομαι ("I feel").

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word aesthetic.

Examples

  • Passing on to the study of more complex concepts, where the aesthetic activity is found in conjunction with other orders of facts, and showing the mode of this union or complication, we find ourselves at once face to face with the concept of _feeling_ and with the feelings which are called _aesthetic_.

    Aesthetic as Science of Expression and General Linguistic Benedetto Croce 1909

  • It is important to make clear that as the existence of the hedonistic side in every spiritual activity has given rise to the confusion between the aesthetic activity and the useful or pleasurable, so the existence, or, better, the possibility of constructing this physical side, has generated the confusion between _aesthetic_ expression and expression

    Aesthetic as Science of Expression and General Linguistic Benedetto Croce 1909

  • In his Three Lectures on Aesthetic, Bosanquet focuses primarily on aesthetic appreciation, analysing the ˜aesthetic attitude™ which, he says, is an activity not of the mind alone, but of the whole person ” “body-and-mind.”

    My Recycled Soul 2009

  • The word aesthetic comes from the Greek, aisthanomai, meaning "to perceive, to sense".

    The Art of Life Hal Duncan 2007

  • The word aesthetic comes from the Greek, aisthanomai, meaning "to perceive, to sense".

    Archive 2007-02-01 Hal Duncan 2007

  • If your aesthetic is a surreal one, this isn't a problem; you can easily come up with titles that not only aren't jarringly incongruent with the music, but actually contribute to the overall effect.

    The song that goes like this Matthew Guerrieri 2006

  • If your aesthetic is a surreal one, this isn't a problem; you can easily come up with titles that not only aren't jarringly incongruent with the music, but actually contribute to the overall effect.

    Archive 2006-12-01 Matthew Guerrieri 2006

  • The power of the aesthetic is also a precondition for

    Introduction: 'The Power is There': Romanticism as Aesthetic Insistence 2005

  • But however symptomatic or inevitable the spatialization of the aesthetic may be for our understanding of the relationship between art and non-art — the aesthetic is here or there or inside this or that — aesthetic spacing can only be derived from force: it is the effect of a break.

    Introduction: 'The Power is There': Romanticism as Aesthetic Insistence 2005

  • If the possibility of a critique of the aesthetic is already an effect of the aesthetic, then, the historical persistence of this category will be unassailable as long as critique is understood as the sole means of its limitation.

    Aesthetic Violence and the Legitimacy of Reading Romanticism 2005

  • While Tumblr users mainstreamed it years ago, many teenagers use aesthetic as an all-purpose adjective—“that’s so aesthetic” as a shorthand for “that’s so aesthetically pleasing to me.”

    Cottagecore Was Just the Beginning Kaitlyn Tiffany 2021

  • Aesthetic vlogging for her and others is a demonstrated savvy for infoglut — the ability to rapidly process a huge volume of information into an “aesthetic.”

    The grand unified theory of aesthetic vlogging – TechCrunch Henry Pickavet 2021

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • A better definiton: concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty.

    December 13, 2007

  • You're right, doohikee. That is a better definition. :-)

    December 13, 2007

  • "Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern." - Alfred North Whitehead

    July 30, 2008

  • concerned with the appreciation of beauty

    The director, not known for his aesthetic sensibilities, decided not to use costumes at all, and put on the play in everyday clothing.

    October 12, 2016