Cute

/kjuːt/ adj

adj ·Common ·High school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Possessing physical features, behaviors, personality traits or other properties that are mainly attributed to infants and small or cuddly animals; e.g. fair, dainty, round, and soft physical features, disproportionately large eyes and head, playfulness, fragility, helplessness, curiosity or shyness, innocence, affectionate behavior.
  • Grammar: cute is listed as adj.
  • Nearest alternatives: acute, adept, adorable, adorable.
  • Useful contrasts: awkward, clumsy, genuineness.
  • Usage evidence: I thought our boss was stubborn as a mule but actually he has his cute side.

How to use "cute"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cute" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cute" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cute" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cute" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "cute" is acting as adj in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "acute" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "cute", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Possessing physical features, behaviors, personality traits or other properties that are mainly attributed to infants and small or cuddly animals; e.g. fair, dainty, round, and soft physical features, disproportionately large eyes and head, playfulness, fragility, helplessness, curiosity or shyness, innocence, affectionate behavior.

    "Our reaction to cute attributes is understood as the way nature ensures mammals care for their young."

  2. 2
    Lovable, charming, attractive or pleasing, especially in a youthful, dainty, quaint or fun-spirited way.

    "Let's go to the mall and look for cute girls."

  3. 3
    Sexually attractive or pleasing; gorgeous.

    "He's got such cute buns."

  4. 4
    Affected or contrived to charm; mincingly clever; precious; cutesy.

    "The actor's performance was too cute for me. All that mugging to the audience killed the humor."

  5. 5
    Mentally keen or discerning (See also acute)

    "Then Turpin being so very cute, He hid his money in his boot."

Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    Evincing cleverness; surprising in its elegance or unconventionality (but of limited importance). especially

    "There's a cute alternative proof of this using lambda calculus."

Adjective
  1. 1
    obviously contrived to charm wordnet
  2. 2
    attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness wordnet

Example

"I thought our boss was stubborn as a mule but actually he has his cute side."

Common questions

What does "cute" mean?

Possessing physical features, behaviors, personality traits or other properties that are mainly attributed to infants and small or cuddly animals; e.g. fair, dainty, round, and soft physical features, disproportionately large eyes and head, playfulness, fragility, helplessness, curiosity or shyness, innocence, affectionate behavior.

What is a synonym for "cute"?

Common synonyms include: acute, adept, adorable, adorable, adroit, apt.

How do you use "cute" in a sentence?

I thought our boss was stubborn as a mule but actually he has his cute side.

How do you pronounce "cute"?

Pronounced /kjuːt/.

Etymology

Aphetic form of acute, originally meaning “keenly perceptive or discerning, shrewd” (1731). Meaning transferred to “pretty, fetching” by US students (slang) c. 1834. Meaning drifted further to describe the pleasing attraction to features usually possessed by the young.

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