What does "dainty" mean?
A delicacy (choice or pleasing food).
Dainty
adj, noun
adj, noun ·2 syllables ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A delicacy (choice or pleasing food).
- Grammar: dainty is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: exquisite, acute, agreeable, airy.
- Useful contrasts: coarse, coarse fare, coarse person.
- Usage evidence: Few boys are dainty about their food.
How to use "dainty"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dainty" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- 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 "dainty" 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 "dainty" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dainty" 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 "dainty" is acting as adj, noun 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 "exquisite" 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 "dainty", 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
Noun
- 1 A delicacy (choice or pleasing food).
"And she receyued hym with grete Ioye and made hym to sytte doune by her and soo was he sette to soupe with flesshe and many deyntees And she received him with great joy, and made him to sit down by her, and so was he set to sup with flesh and many dainties."
- 2 something considered choice to eat wordnet
- 3 A fancy cookie, pastry, or square, frequently homemade, served at a social event. British-Columbia, Canadian-Prairies, Northwestern, Ontario, plural-normally
- 4 Esteem, honour. obsolete
- 5 An affectionate term of address. obsolete
"I am not eager at forbidden dainties"
Adjective
- 1 Elegant; delicately small and pretty.
"As for thoſe People of the Eaſt, (Goa, Calecute, Malaca,) they vvere a Fine, and Dainty People; Frugall, and yet Elegant, though not Militar."
- 2 Fastidious and fussy, especially when eating.
"UUho when he ſhal embrace you in his arms UUil tell how many thouſand men he ſlew. And when you looke for amorous diſcourſe, Will rattle foorth his facts of war and blood: Too harſh a ſubiect for your daintie eares."
- 3 Excellent; valuable, fine. obsolete
"Heliogabalus the most dissolute man of the world, amidst his most riotous sensualities, intended, whensoever occasion should force him to it, to have a daintie death."
Adjective
- 1 delicately beautiful wordnet
- 2 excessively fastidious and easily disgusted wordnet
- 3 especially pleasing to the taste wordnet
Example
"Few boys are dainty about their food."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dainty"?
Common synonyms include: exquisite, acute, agreeable, airy, ambrosia, ambrosial.
How do you use "dainty" in a sentence?
Few boys are dainty about their food.
Etymology
From Middle English deynte (as noun), from Old French deintié, from Latin dignitātem. Doublet of dignity.