pretty

adverb

/ˈprɪti/

with adjectives and adverbs与形容词和副词连用 (rather informal)Idioms

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to some extent; fairly颇；相当
- The game was pretty good.这个游戏相当不错。
- I'm pretty sure I'll be going.我相当肯定会去的。
- It's pretty hard to explain.这事很难解释清楚。
- I'm going to have to find a new apartment pretty soon.我很快就得找个新住处了。
Which Word? quite / fairly / rather / pretty
quite / fairly / rather / prettyLook at these examples:看下列例句：
- The exam was fairly difficult.这场考试颇难。
- The exam was quite difficult.这场考试相当难。
- The exam was rather difficult.这场考试十分难。
- Quite is a little stronger than fairly, and rather is a little stronger than quite. Rather is not very common in North American English; pretty has the same meaning and this is used in informal British English too:
  The exam was pretty difficult.这场考试十分难。
- In British English quite has two meanings:
  I feel quite tired today今天我感到相当累。
  (= fairly tired). With adjectives that describe an extreme state (‘non-gradable’ adjectives) it means ‘completely’ or ‘absolutely’:与表示极端状态的形容词（即非级差形容词）连用，意为完全地、绝对地：
  I feel quite exhausted.我感到筋疲力尽。
  With some adjectives, both meanings are possible. The speaker’s stress and intonation will show you which is meant:与某些形容词连用，两种含义均有可能，究竟属于哪一种由说话者的重音和语调决定：
  Your essay is quite good你的文章还不错（挺好，不过可以更好）；
  (= fairly good—it could be better);
  Your essay is quite good你的文章还不错（挺好，不过可以更好）；
  (= very good, especially when this is unexpected).
- In North American English quite usually means something like ‘very’, not ‘fairly’ or ‘rather’. Pretty is used instead for this sense.
very十分；非常；极；很
- That performance was pretty impressive.那场表演很出色。
- Things are looking pretty good!形势看来很不错！
- The idea sounds pretty cool. 这个想法听起来很酷。
- We were pretty disappointed with the quality of the food. 我们对食物的质量非常失望。
Extra Examples
- It came at the end of a pretty miserable week.这是在一个相当悲惨的周末到来的。
- Flying those planes was pretty hard work.驾驶那些飞机是相当艰苦的工作。

Word OriginOld English prættig; related to Middle Dutch pertich ‘brisk, clever’, obsolete Dutch prettig ‘humorous, sporty’, from a West Germanic base meaning ‘trick’. The sense development ‘deceitful, cunning, clever, skilful, admirable, pleasing, nice’ has parallels in adjectives such as canny, fine, nice, etc.

Idioms

be sitting pretty

(informal) to be in a good situation, especially when others are not（尤指在他人处境不好时）处境好
- With profits at record levels, the company’s certainly sitting pretty this year.随着利润达到创纪录水平，该公司今年肯定会表现不错。

pretty much/well

(British English also pretty nearly)

(North American English also pretty near)

(informal) almost; almost completely几乎；差不多
- One dog looks pretty much like another to me.在我看来，狗长得都差不多。
- He goes out pretty well every night.他几乎每晚都外出。
- The first stage is pretty near finished.第一阶段已经接近完成。

pretty

adjective

/ˈprɪti/

(comparative prettier, superlative prettiest)

Idioms

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(especially of a woman, or a girl尤指女子或女孩) attractive without being very beautiful漂亮的；标致的；妩媚的；动人的
- a pretty face俏丽的脸
- a very pretty girl很漂亮的女孩
- You look so pretty in that dress!你穿那件连衣裙真漂亮！
- She's very attractive, though not conventionally pretty.她很有魅力，虽然不是传统意义上的漂亮。
Synonyms beautiful
beautiful
- pretty
- handsome
- attractive
- lovely
- good-looking
- gorgeous
These words all describe people who are pleasant to look at.
- beautiful (especially of a woman or girl) very pleasant to look at:
  She looked stunningly beautiful that night.她那天晚上美极了。
- pretty (especially of a girl or woman) pleasant to look at:
  She’s got a very pretty face.她有一张非常俏丽的脸。
  Pretty is used most often to talk about girls. When it is used to talk about a woman, it usually suggests that she is like a girl, with small, delicate features.
- handsome (of a man) pleasant to look at; (of a woman) pleasant to look at, with large strong features rather than small delicate ones:
  He was described as ‘tall, dark and handsome’.他被描述为 “高大黝黑、相貌堂堂”。
- attractive (of a person) pleasant to look at, especially in a sexual way:
  She’s a very attractive woman.她是个相当有魅力的女人。
- lovely (of a person) beautiful; very attractive:
  She looked particularly lovely that night.她那天晚上特别妩媚动人。
  When you describe somebody as lovely, you are usually showing that you also like them very much.
- good-looking (of a person) pleasant to look at, often in a sexual way:
  She arrived with a very good-looking man.她和一个非常英俊的男人一起到来。
- gorgeous (informal) (of a person) extremely attractive, especially in a sexual way:指（人）非常漂亮的、美丽动人的、性感的：
  You look gorgeous!你美极了！
attractive or good-looking?用 attractive 还是 good-looking？If you describe somebody as attractive you often also mean that they have a pleasant personality as well as being pleasant to look at; good-looking just describes somebody’s physical appearance.Patterns
- a(n) beautiful/pretty/handsome/attractive/lovely/good-looking/gorgeous girl/woman
- a(n) beautiful/handsome/attractive/good-looking/gorgeous boy/man
- a(n) beautiful/pretty/handsome/attractive/lovely/good-looking face
Topics Appearancea1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- feel
- look
- …
adverb
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
See full entry
(of places or things地方或事物) attractive and pleasant to look at or to listen to without being large, beautiful or impressive赏心悦目的；动听的；美观的；精致的
- pretty clothes漂亮的衣服
- a pretty garden赏心悦目的花园
- Lydia—what a pretty name!莉迪娅－多美的名字！
- That's a pretty flower—what's it called?那花很漂亮，叫什么名字？
- The canal looked prettiest at night. 运河在晚上看起来最漂亮。
- (figurative) He was hired to make the company pretty and then sell it off.他受雇把公司变得漂亮，然后卖掉。
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- feel
- look
- …
adverb
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
See full entry

Idioms

as pretty as a picture

(old-fashioned) very pretty美丽如画；非常漂亮
- She’s as pretty as a picture.她非常漂亮。
More Like This Similes in idioms
Similes in idioms

come to a pretty pass

(also come to such a pass)

(old-fashioned or humorous) to reach a sad or difficult state陷于不妙的（或困难的）境地；落到这步田地
- I never thought things would come to this pretty pass.我从没想过事情会发展到这种地步。
- Things have come to a pretty pass when we can’t afford to pay the heating bills!当我们付不起取暖费时，事情就变得很糟糕了。

not just a pretty face

(humorous) used to emphasize that you have particular skills or qualities并非徒有其表；不止脸蛋漂亮
- ‘I didn't know you could play the piano.’ ‘I'm not just a pretty face, you know!’“我不知道你还会弹钢琴呢。” “我可不止是脸蛋儿漂亮，对吧！”

not a pretty sight