Log in or Sign up
  1. dainty love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. adj. Delicately beautiful or charming; exquisite: "No dainty rhymes or sentimental love verses for you, terrible year” ( Walt Whitman).
  2. adj. Delicious or choice. See Synonyms at delicate.
  3. adj. Of refined taste; discriminating.
  4. adj. Overly fastidious; squeamish.
  5. n. Something delicious; a delicacy.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. Worth; value; excellence.
  2. n. A matter of joy or gratification; special regard or pleasure.
  3. n. Pl. dainties (dān′ tiz). Something delicate to the taste; something delicious; a delicacy.
  4. n. Darling: a term of fondness.
  5. n. Synonyms Tidbit, etc. See delicacy.
  6. Valuable; costly.
  7. Exhibiting or possessing delicate beauty, or exquisite taste or skill; elegant; beautiful; neat; trim.
  8. Pleasing to the palate; toothsome; delicious: as, dainty food.
  9. Of acute sensibility or nice discrimination; sensitive.
  10. Especially Of nice discrimination as regards taste; nice or over-nice in selecting what is preferred in any class of things, as food, clothing, etc.; hence, squeamish: as, a dainty taste or palate; dainty people.
  11. Nice as regards behavior, decorum, intercourse, etc.; fastidious; hence, affectedly fine; effeminate; weak.
  12. = Syn, 2. Pretty. Savory, luscious, toothsome.5 and Nice, Fastidious, etc. See nice.

Wiktionary

  1. n. obsolete Esteem, honour.
  2. n. A delicacy.
  3. n. Canada, Prairies and northwestern Ontario Fancy cookies, pastries, or squares served at a social event (usually plural).
  4. adj. obsolete Excellent; valuable, fine.
  5. adj. Delicately small and pretty.
  6. adj. Fastidious and fussy when eating.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. obsolete Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything.
  2. n. That which is delicious or delicate; a delicacy.
  3. n. Poetic A term of fondness.
  4. adj. obsolete Rare; valuable; costly.
  5. adj. Delicious to the palate; toothsome.
  6. adj. Nice; delicate; elegant, in form, manner, or breeding; well-formed; neat; tender.
  7. adj. Requiring dainties. Hence: Overnice; hard to please; fastidious; squeamish; scrupulous; ceremonious.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. especially pleasing to the taste
  2. n. something considered choice to eat
  3. adj. delicately beautiful
  4. adj. affectedly dainty or refined
  5. adj. excessively fastidious and easily disgusted

Etymologies

  1. From Old French deintié, from Latin dignitātem. (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English deinte, excellent, excellence, from Old French deintie, from Latin dignitās, from dignus, worthy; see dek- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “Though he does not succeed in the delineation of the great and grand passions of our nature, he is very successful in the sphere of its humane and tender sentiments; and though open to criticism for the jaunty audacity with which he coins dainty sweetnesses of expression rejected by all dictionaries, and for an occasional pertness in asserting opinions of doubtful truth, he is so lovable a creature that we pardon his literary foibles as we would pardon the personal foibles of a charming companion and friend.”

    The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 01, No. 01, November, 1857 A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

  • “At stately Augusta, where change forever has been taken in dainty sips, this is like the frat boys just showed up with a keg.”

    USATODAY.com - Traditions die hard at Augusta National

  • “I did her hair, soft-like, round her forehead, all in dainty curls, and just to one side of her neck I put a bunch of most beautiful purple pansies.”

    The Garden Party, and Other Stories

  • “In one corner the waitresses, in dainty caps and aprons, had put their heads together, and were eagerly whispering to one another whilst casting furtive looks at the small group assembled in front of one of those pretty alcoves, which, as you know, line the walls all round the big tea-room at Mathis '.”

    Lady Molly of Scotland Yard

  • “They were clothed in dainty muslin, three as sweet young girls as one would ever meet.”

    Just Patty

  • “The tea was excellent; the toast was in dainty, delicate, thin brown strips.”

    Melbourne House

  • “Undreamed of!" cried Mercedes, throwing up her hands in dainty dismay.”

    Chapter 5

  • “Kind-hearted but rough-mannered youths, who loved Merry very much, but teased her sadly about her "fine lady airs," as they called her dainty ways and love of beauty.”

    Jack And Jill

  • “The opposite hills, on the east, were in dainty sunshine and shadow, every undulation, every ridge and hollow, softly marked out.”

    The Hills of the Shatemuc

  • “Even forty years ago, when he wasn’t so strapped with gym muscle, Lewis had been too big for what he called the dainty moves.”

    Simon & Schuster: The Wall

Show 10 more examples...

Log in or sign up to add your own related words.

synonyms (18)

Words with the same meaning

  1. delicacy
  2. value
  3. estimation
  1. rare
  2. valuable
  3. costly
  1. toothsome
  2. nice
  3. delicate
  1. well-formed
  2. neat
  3. tender
  1. fastidious
  2. squeamish
  3. scrupulous
  1. ceremonious
  2. sweetmeat
  3. petite

equivalents (4)

Other words for ‘dainty’

  1. tasty
  1. delicate
  1. refined
  1. fastidious

same context (9)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. delicate
  1. nice
  1. neat
  1. slender
  1. soft
  1. silken
  1. gorgeous
  1. pink
  1. quaint

rhymes (1)

Words with the same terminal sound

  1. Clementi

reverse dictionary (77)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. nice
  2. deynte
  3. cate
  4. dainteous
  5. daintith
  6. deinte
  7. deinteth
  8. denty
  9. dainty
  10. delicacy
  11. entremets
  12. epicure
  13. lickerish
  14. daint
  15. daintify
  1. daintily
  2. daintiness
  3. migniard
  4. cookery
  5. sunket
  6. sweet-mouthed
  7. delicatessen
  8. bonbon
  9. niffnaffy
  10. recherché
  11. cake
  12. apician
  13. bouchée
  14. daintification
  15. daintiful
  1. daintrel
  2. delice
  3. gingerly
  4. lickerous
  5. delicate
  6. twee
  7. schizopetalon
  8. schizopetalon walkeri
  9. cute
  10. mincing
  11. precious
  12. nibbler
  13. niminy-piminy
  14. prim
  15. miniardize
  1. minion
  2. rarebit
  3. spice
  4. sucket
  5. vignette
  6. bonne bouche
  7. coarse
  8. conceit
  9. dandy
  10. delicious
  11. diminutive
  12. entremes
  13. exquisite
  14. fastidious
  15. fine
  1. finikin
  2. gormand
  3. holiday
  4. knickknack
  5. luxury
  6. marchpane
  7. minikin
  8. minionette
  9. nicety
  10. penurious
  11. prettiness
  12. squeamish
  13. subtile
  14. subtilty
  15. nurse
  1. tell
  2. tricksy

tags (2)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. weirdnet
  1. the weirdnet paradox

Log in or sign up to add your own tag.

Wordmap

(beta)

Word visualization

Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘dainty’.

More lists containing ‘dainty’

Comments

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

  • bilby See pair. Dec 2, 2007

  • reesetee It seems to do that fairly frequently, I've noticed. Dec 2, 2007

  • sonofgroucho Clever how weirdnet uses the word within its own definition! Dec 2, 2007

Tweets

Looking for tweets for dainty.

‘dainty’ has been looked up 3443 times, loved by 7 people, added to 45 lists, commented on 3 times, and has a Scrabble score of 10.