I. pret ‧ ty 1 S1 W3 /ˈprɪti/ BrE AmE adverb [+ adjective/adverb] spoken
1 . fairly or more than a little:
I’m pretty sure he’ll say yes.
She still looks pretty miserable.
REGISTER
In written English, people usually avoid pretty and use fairly instead:
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The consequences of this are fairly obvious.
2 . very:
Dinner at Luigi’s sounds pretty good to me.
3 . pretty well/much almost completely:
He hit the ball pretty well exactly where he wanted it.
The guard left us pretty much alone.
They’re all pretty much the same.
4 . pretty nearly ( also pretty near American English ) almost:
The shock of Pat’s death pretty near killed Roy.
⇨ be sitting pretty at ↑ sit (9)
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THESAURUS
▪ rather/quite especially British English more than a little, but less than very. British people often use these words before adjectives in conversation. In many cases they do not intend to change the meaning – it is just something that people say:
She seemed rather unhappy.
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It's rather a difficult question.
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It’s getting quite late.
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Malaria is rather common in this area.
▪ fairly rather. Fairly is used in both British and American English:
The test was fairly easy.
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It’s a fairly long way to the next town.
▪ pretty spoken rather. Pretty is more informal than the other words and is used in spoken English:
Her French is pretty good.
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We’re in a pretty strong position.
▪ reasonably to a satisfactory level or degree:
He plays reasonably well.
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Let's just say that I am reasonably confident we'll win.
▪ moderately formal more than a little, but not very:
Her family was moderately wealthy.
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The food was moderately good, but not as good as the food in the other restaurants.
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Use a moderately high heat.
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a moderately difficult climb
▪ somewhat formal fairly or to a small degree. Somewhat is used especially when talking about the size or degree of something. It is often used in comparatives:
The celebrations were somewhat larger than last year’s.
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He looked somewhat irritated.
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a somewhat surprising decision
II. pretty 2 S2 W3 BrE AmE adjective ( comparative prettier , superlative prettiest )
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: prættig 'tricky' , from prætt 'trick' ]
1 . a woman or child who is pretty has a nice attractive face:
a pretty little girl
Maria looks much prettier with her hair cut short.
2 . something that is pretty is pleasant to look at or listen to but is not impressive:
a pretty dress
The tune is pretty.
What a pretty little garden!
3 . not a pretty sight very unpleasant to look at – sometimes used humorously:
After a night’s drinking, Al was not a pretty sight.
4 . not just a pretty face spoken used humorously to say that someone is intelligent, when people think this is surprising:
I’m not just a pretty face, you know!
5 . come to a pretty pass old-fashioned used to say that a very bad situation has developed:
Things have come to a pretty pass, if you can’t say what you think without causing a fight.
6 . cost a pretty penny old-fashioned to cost a lot of money
7 . pretty as a picture old-fashioned very pretty
—prettily adverb :
Charlotte sang very prettily.
—prettiness noun [uncountable]