aesthetic
Other forms: aesthetics
The adjective aesthetic comes in handy when the subject at hand is beauty or the arts. A velvet painting of dogs playing poker might have minimal aesthetic appeal.
Aesthetic, from a Greek word meaning "perception," comes to us from German philosophers who used it for a theory of the beautiful. From this technical sense, it soon came to refer to good taste and to artistry in general; if something has "aesthetic value," it has value as a work of art (even if nobody will pay much for it). It does not, however, refer to the objects themselves; do not talk about an "aesthetic painting."
-
concerning or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste“the aesthetic faculties”“an aesthetic person”“aesthetic feeling”“the illustrations made the book an aesthetic success”synonyms: aesthetical, esthetic, estheticalartisticsatisfying aesthetic standards and sensibilitiespainterlyhaving qualities unique to the art of paintingsensuoustaking delight in beautyantonyms:inaestheticviolating aesthetic canons or requirements; deficient in tastefulness or beauty
-
aesthetically pleasing
-
relating to or dealing with the subject of aesthetics“aesthetic values”synonyms: esthetic
-
(philosophy) a philosophical theory as to what is beautifulsynonyms: esthetic
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
Vocabulary lists containing aesthetic
What better way to prepare for the sentence completion and passage-based questions on the SAT than to commit yourself to completing our alphabetically organized SAT lists?
Find lists of SAT words organized by every letter of the alphabet here: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K & L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, and W, X, Y & Z.
Looking to build your vocabulary? Then practice this list of 100 "top words" — the kind that used to be tested on the SAT before 2016. If you're a high school student prepping for the SAT, check out Vocabulary.com's Roadmap to the SAT, which focuses on the vocabulary you'll need to ace today's SAT test.
Nick Carraway rents a summer house in Long Island where he befriends his mysterious neighbor Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire who hides behind an extravagant and decadent lifestyle.