{"id":9253,"date":"2020-11-10T19:21:02","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T19:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=9253"},"modified":"2023-08-24T21:53:52","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T21:53:52","slug":"words-stronger-than-beautiful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/words-stronger-than-beautiful\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Words that are Stronger than Beautiful (but not Perfect)"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>img#mv-trellis-img-1::before{padding-top:150%; }img#mv-trellis-img-1{display:block;}<\/style><p>Part of the beauty of the English language is that it has a lot of words with subtle differences.<\/p>\n<p>So what are some of the alternative words you can use to describe a beautiful woman?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>A word about beauty<\/h2>\n<p>Before we list our choices, it&rsquo;s important to remember that beauty is in the eye of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/suit-yourself-meaning\/\">beholder<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"everyone has\" href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/everyone-has-vs-everyone-have\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">everyone has<\/a> different tastes. Because of that using words like &ldquo;beautiful&rdquo; and &ldquo;perfect&rdquo; to describe someone doesn&rsquo;t tell you much.<\/p>\n<p>Even poets have struggled to come up with ways to describe the woman they love, and have found some of the more clich&eacute; turns of phrase tiresome and unusable.<\/p>\n<p>Shakespeare, for instance, has a famous sonnet (<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/poets.org\/poem\/my-mistress-eyes-are-nothing-sun-sonnet-130\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sonnet 130<\/a><\/strong>) in which he ironically states that his lover&rsquo;s eyes &ldquo;are nothing like the sun,&rdquo; and that her lips are not as red as coral.<\/p>\n<p>He even goes so far as to say that instead of smelling like perfume, her breath &ldquo;reeks.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>If you&rsquo;re trying to describe physical beauty, then, try for the unexpected and memorable.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-although\/\">Although<\/a><\/strong>, let&rsquo;s be honest, it&rsquo;s probably not a good idea to describe <em>anyone<\/em> as having breath that reeks, let alone someone you&rsquo;re trying to impress!<\/p>\n<p>Instead, try one of the words in the list below, all of which highlight different aspects of what makes someone beautiful.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, those differences in taste also mean that if the words in this list don&rsquo;t quite work for you, or the person you&rsquo;re trying to describe, that&rsquo;s perfectly normal.<\/p>\n<p>With that out of the way, here are ten words that are stronger than beautiful (but aren&rsquo;t perfect).<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9261\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1.png\" alt=\"Words That are Stronger Than Beautiful but not Perfect\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1.png 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-768x1152.png 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-561x842.png 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-364x546.png 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-728x1092.png 728w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-608x912.png 608w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-758x1137.png 758w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1.png\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9261 eager-load\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201000%201500'%3E%3Crect%20width='1000'%20height='1500'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"Words That are Stronger Than Beautiful but not Perfect\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1.png\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1.png\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1.png 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-768x1152.png 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-561x842.png 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-364x546.png 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-728x1092.png 728w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-608x912.png 608w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Stronger-Than-Beautiful-1-758x1137.png 758w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>1. Stunning<\/h2>\n<p>Stunning is used to describe someone <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-who\/\">who<\/a> <\/strong>is very attractive.<\/p>\n<p>It has its origin in the verb &ldquo;to stun,&rdquo; literally meaning &ldquo;to knock unconscious&rdquo; or &ldquo;to daze.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>You might think that makes this a strange way to compliment someone, but think of it more as &ldquo;so pretty you&rsquo;re dazed&rdquo; and it starts to make sense.<\/p>\n<p>This word is great for someone whose beauty is in your face and unapologetic.<\/p>\n<h3>Example<\/h3>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;The actress&rsquo;s makeup brought her features into stark relief, giving her a stunning beauty that was hard to ignore.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>2. Enthralling<\/h2>\n<p>The word &ldquo;enthralling&rdquo; comes from the word &ldquo;thrall,&rdquo; which is a historical word meaning servant or slave.<\/p>\n<p>If someone is &ldquo;enthralling,&rdquo; <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-then\/\">then<\/a><\/strong> her beauty has metaphorically made you into her servant.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s a great choice if the person you&rsquo;re describing is so beautiful you feel you have no choice but to do what she says, or otherwise wish to do her bidding.<\/p>\n<h3>Example<\/h3>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;At the party, Mary&rsquo;s looks were so enthralling that I had trouble focusing on conversation, and had to work hard to stop myself from staring.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>3. Breath-taking<\/h2>\n<p>This one is pretty self-explanatory.<\/p>\n<p>If someone is breath-taking, that means she takes your breath away.<\/p>\n<p>Why does she take your breath away? Because she&rsquo;s so beautiful, of course.<\/p>\n<h3>Example<\/h3>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;Margot&rsquo;s mother was taken aback by how breath-taking her daughter looked on the day of the wedding.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>4. Radiant<\/h2>\n<p>When someone is radiant, her beauty shines through her surroundings, making her stand out no matter where she goes.<\/p>\n<p>This word is also used for a happy kind of beauty.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, some people say pregnant women or those who have recently married or fallen in love have a &ldquo;glow&rdquo; to them.<\/p>\n<p>Pregnancy can actually be really hard, but that aside, it&rsquo;s true that it does make some women so happy that they might be called radiant.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, if a person&rsquo;s cheerful, smiling nature is part of her beauty, radiant might be a stronger word than just &ldquo;beautiful.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h3>Example<\/h3>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;Fans of the pop singer are known to like her radiant features and upbeat attitude just as much as her singing.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>5. Exquisite<\/h2>\n<p>Unlike the take-no-prisoners subtext of &ldquo;stunning,&rdquo; if you describe someone as exquisite it implies that she has a fragile, delicate kind of beauty.<\/p>\n<p>This word has its origin in the Latin words for &ldquo;sought out,&rdquo; <em>ex<\/em> (out) and <em>quaerere<\/em> (seek), but its meaning in English comes to us from Middle English, where it carried the meaning of &ldquo;precise.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The interior workings of a clock, for example, or an especially detailed painting, might be called &ldquo;exquisite&rdquo; because of the amount of detail and precision their creator has put into them.<\/p>\n<p>From there, it also picked up a connotation of fragility.<\/p>\n<p>When the word is applied to people <a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-now\/\">now<\/a>, it means someone whose beauty is delicate and perhaps precise.<\/p>\n<h3>Example<\/h3>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;The first lady&rsquo;s exquisite beauty was brought out further by the refined subtlety of her clothes and nearly invisible makeup.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>6. Mesmerizing<\/h2>\n<p>Mesmerize has its origin in a synonym for hypnotize. Like that more magical word, &ldquo;mesmerize&rdquo; describes what happens when you grab someone&rsquo;s attention and don&rsquo;t let go of it, so that all they can focus on is you.<\/p>\n<p>When describing someone&rsquo;s physical attractiveness, it&rsquo;s her beauty that does the mesmerizing, making this adjective another good way to describe someone whose looks you just can&rsquo;t forget about, or have a hard time looking away from.<\/p>\n<h3>Example<\/h3>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;Agbani Darego is so mesmerizing I have to stop what I&rsquo;m doing every time I see a news article about her.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>7. Sublime<\/h2>\n<p>The word sublime has fallen out of favour <a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-since\/\">since<\/a> its heyday in the 1800s, but has seen a bit of a resurgence in the last few decades.<\/p>\n<p>Originally used to refer to something that&rsquo;s exceptionally pure in spirit, by the 1800s the word meant that something expressed grandeur or a type of vast, powerful beauty.<\/p>\n<p>The word now refers more generally to physical or other kinds of beauty, and might just be considered to mean &ldquo;exceptional.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Famous pieces of classical music, for instance, or paintings that inspire awe in the viewer, might be called &ldquo;sublime.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>If a person&rsquo;s beauty is sublime, it means her looks are similarly exceptional.<\/p>\n<h3>Example<\/h3>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;The model&rsquo;s beauty was so sublime that talking to her sent shivers down my spine.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>8. Divine<\/h2>\n<p>Like &ldquo;sublime,&rdquo; this word has spiritual origins. If anything, the spiritual meaning of &ldquo;divine&rdquo; is <a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-even\/\">even<\/a> more obvious.<\/p>\n<p>The word &ldquo;divine&rdquo; can also be used to refer to beauty that is so outstanding it&rsquo;s almost godly. It can also be used in a more general way to just mean something that is extremely good.<\/p>\n<h3>Example<\/h3>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;As she stepped down from the dais, the sculptor could tell he had completely failed to capture his model&rsquo;s divine beauty in his newest piece.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>9. Striking<\/h2>\n<p>This word is another that has its origin in violence and yet carries a clear implication of exceptional beauty.<\/p>\n<p>Although being &ldquo;struck&rdquo; by something may still be used to describe a physical blow, the word has a long history of use as a metaphor.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, the phrase &ldquo;I was struck by a thought&rdquo; suggests a thought that occurred with some force.<\/p>\n<p>By the same token, a person who can be described as striking, or strikingly beautiful, likely has strong facial features that stick in the mind.<\/p>\n<h3>Example<\/h3>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;Everyone was surprised by how striking Janet was after her makeover.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>10. Ethereal<\/h2>\n<p>The last word we&rsquo;ll discuss in detail in this post carries almost the opposite meaning of &ldquo;striking.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>If someone&rsquo;s beauty is ethereal, that means it&rsquo;s appears very delicate or fragile. Like &ldquo;divine,&rdquo; it carries a distinct sense that it&rsquo;s too good to last long in this world.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Ethereal&rdquo; is a great way to describe someone with very refined features whose beauty seems like it might fade away because of how unreal and near to perfection it is.<\/p>\n<h3>Example<\/h3>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;Genji first saw his love through a bamboo fence, her beauty so ethereal he thought she might fade away with the morning mist.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n&nbsp;\n<h2>Bonus words and another approach to beauty<\/h2>\n<p>If the words in the list above don&rsquo;t work for you, try one of these on for size: enthralling, lovely, charming, adorable, compelling, unforgettable, remarkable, ethereal, relentless, memorable, amazing, elfin, arresting.<\/p>\n<p>Another neat trick to describe a woman&rsquo;s beauty, in particular, is to talk about the ways she doesn&rsquo;t fit stereotypical standards of beauty (which, to be honest, are often harmful to women as a whole).<\/p>\n<p>Focus on what makes the specific person you&rsquo;re talking about beautiful to you, whether it&rsquo;s her appearance or not, and you&rsquo;ll stand a much better chance of explaining exactly what makes her stand out.<\/p>\n<p>Last but not least, if you have still not found the perfect word to describe someone, resort to our article &ldquo;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/best-adjectives-to-describe-someone\/\">The 300 Best Adjectives to Describe Someone<\/a><\/strong>&rdquo; and try your luck there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Part of the beauty of the English language is that it has a lot of words with subtle differences. So what are some of the alternative words you can use to describe a beautiful woman? &nbsp; A word about beauty Before we list our choices, it&rsquo;s important to remember that beauty is in the eye &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"","disable-critical-css":false,"_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[182,183,181],"class_list":["post-9253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","tag-beautiful","tag-other-words-than-beautiful","tag-stronger-than-beautiful"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9253"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26831,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9253\/revisions\/26831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}