What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Beautiful vs Spectacular - What's the difference?

beautiful | spectacular |

As adjectives the difference between beautiful and spectacular

is that beautiful is attractive and possessing charm while spectacular is amazing or worthy of special notice.

As a noun spectacular is

a spectacular display.

beautiful

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Attractive and possessing charm.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
    • , chapter=5 citation , passage=‘It's rather like a beautiful Inverness cloak one has inherited. Much too good to hide away, so one wears it instead of an overcoat and pretends it's an amusing new fashion.’}}
  • (of the weather) Pleasant; clear.
  • Well executed.
  • (as a pro-sentence ) How beautiful that is!
    • (referring to an athlete catching a ball)
  • (as a pro-sentence; ironic ) How unfortunate that is!

    • Usage notes

    The comparatives beautifuler' and '''beautifuller''', and the superlatives '''beautifulest''' and ' beautifullest have also occasionally been used, but are considered dated or obsolete.

    Synonyms

    * (possessing charm and attractive) beauteous, attractive, cute, fair, good-looking, gorgeous, sheen, handsome, hot (slang), lovely, nice-looking, pretty, shapely, fit (slang) * (of the weather) clear, fine, nice, pleasant, sunny * (well executed) excellent, exceptional, good, great, marvellous/marvelous, perfect, stylish, wonderful * great, marvellous/marvelous, nice, very nice, wonderful (any of these can be prefixed with an intensifier such as'' bloody, damned ''or just) * See also

    Antonyms

    * (possessing charm and attractive) grotesque, hideous, homely, plain, misshapen, repulsive, ugly; unbeautiful * (of the weather) bad, cloudy, dull, miserable, overcast, rainy, wet * (well executed) average, bad, mediocre, poor, shoddy, substandard, terrible, weak

    Derived terms

    * beautiful armadillo * beautiful game * beautiful people * beautifully * beautifulness

    Related terms

    * beauty ** See also

    Statistics

    * English words suffixed with -ful 1000 English basic words

    spectacular

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Amazing or worthy of special notice
    • The parachutists were spectacular .
  • (dated) Related to, or having the character of, a spectacle or entertainment
    • the merely spectacular
  • * G. Hickes
    • Spectacular sports.
  • * {{quote-news, 1910, August 21, Andre Tridon, Europe Flirts with Argentina to Win Her Rich Trade, The New York Times citation
    • , passage=Those apparently insignificant events which really make history are seldom featured in the press; the merely spectacular too frequently crowds the essential out of the public sheets.}}
  • Relating to spectacles, or glasses for the eyes.

    • Derived terms

    * spectacularly * unspectacular

    Related terms

    * spectacle * species * speculate

    External links

    * *

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A spectacular display.
  • * 2010 , "Under the volcano", The Economist , 16 Oct 2010:
    • Though business has more or less held up so far, a series of drug-related spectaculars sparked an exodus of the city's upper class this summer.