AESTHETIC


Meaning of AESTHETIC in English

adjective

or es·thet·ic esˈthed.ik, is-, əs-, -etik, -ēk, sometimes ˈesˌth-, Brit usually ēsˈ- ; or aes·thet·i·cal or es·thet·i·cal -ə̇kəl, -ēk-

Etymology: German ästhetisch, from New Latin aestheticus, from Greek aisthētikos of sense perception — more at aesthetics

1. : relating to or dealing with aesthetics or its subject matter

aesthetic theories

aesthetic philosophers

2.

a. : relating to the beautiful as distinguished from the merely pleasing, the moral, and especially the useful and utilitarian

a purely aesthetic reaction

aesthetic criteria

b. : artistic

the illustrations made the book an aesthetic success

: beautiful

3. : appreciative of, responsive to, or zealous about the beautiful

an aesthetic person

he lived in an aesthetic age

: having a sense, real or affected, of beauty or fine culture

4. : relating to sensuous cognition:

a. : involving pure feeling or sensation especially in contrast to ratiocination

the aesthetic component of knowledge

b. : based on or derived from immediate especially sensuous experience

gustatory and tactile aesthetic delights

aesthetic feeling

Synonyms: see artistic

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.