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Handsome vs Smart - What's the difference?

handsome | smart | Synonyms |

Smart is a synonym of handsome.



As adjectives the difference between handsome and smart

is that handsome is dexterous; skillful while smart is causing sharp pain; stinging.

As verbs the difference between handsome and smart

is that handsome is to render handsome while smart is to hurt or sting.

As a noun smart is

a sharp, quick, lively pain; a sting.

As an initialism SMART is

specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Tangible, a mnemonic for goal-setting.

As a proper noun Smart is

{{surname}.

handsome

English

Adjective

(en-adj)
  • (obsolete, said of things and people) Dexterous; skillful
  • *
  • *
  • (of a man) Visually attractive; pleasant looking.
    • a handsome' man; a ' handsome garment, house, tree, horse.
  • (of a woman) Striking, impressive and elegantly proportioned, though not typically beautiful.
  • Suitable or fit in action; marked with propriety and ease; graceful; becoming; appropriate.
    • a handsome style, etc.
  • *
  • Generous or noble in character
    • Handsome' is as ' handsome does.
  • Ample; moderately large.
    • a handsome salary
  • *
  • Having a good appearance
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=November 5 , author=Phil Dawkes , title=QPR 2 - 3 Man City , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=City have lapped up the plaudits this season for a series of handsome wins but manager Roberto Mancini has demanded that his side also learn to grind out results when they do not play well. He now has an example to point to.}}

    Derived terms

    * do the handsome thing

    Synonyms

    * (attractive) pretty

    Verb

    (handsom)
  • (obsolete) To render handsome.

    • smart

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) smerten, from (etyl) .

    Verb

  • To hurt or sting.
    • After being hit with a pitch, the batter exclaimed "Ouch, my arm smarts !"
  • * 1897 , (Bram Stoker), (Dracula) Chapter 21
    • He moved convulsively, and as he did so, said, "I'll be quiet, Doctor. Tell them to take off the strait waistcoat. I have had a terrible dream, and it has left me so weak that I cannot move. What's wrong with my face? It feels all swollen, and it smarts dreadfully."
  • To cause a smart or sting in.
  • * T. Adams
    • A goad that smarts the flesh.
  • To feel a pungent pain of mind; to feel sharp pain or grief; to suffer; to feel the sting of evil.
  • * Alexander Pope
    • No creature smarts so little as a fool.
  • * Bible, Proverbs xi. 15
    • He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it.

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) smart, smarte, smerte, from (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Causing sharp pain; stinging.
  • * Shakespeare
    • How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience.
  • Sharp; keen; poignant.
    • a smart pain
  • Exhibiting social ability or cleverness.
  • * 1811 , Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility , chapter 19
    • I always preferred the church, and I still do. But that was not smart' enough for my family. They recommended the army. That was a great deal too ' smart for me.
  • Exhibiting intellectual knowledge, such as that found in books.
  • (often, in combination) Equipped with intelligent behaviour.
    • smart''' bomb'', '''''smart car
    smart'''card'', '''''smart phone
  • Good-looking.
    • a smart outfit
  • Cleverly shrewd and humorous in a way that may be rude and disrespectful.
    • He became tired of his daughter's sarcasm and smart remarks''.
  • * Young
    • Who, for the poor renown of being smart / Would leave a sting within a brother's heart?
  • * Addison
    • a sentence or two, which I thought very smart
  • Sudden and intense.
  • * Clarendon
    • smart skirmishes, in which many fell
  • * 1860 July 9, Henry David Thoreau, journal entry, from Thoreau's bird-lore'', Francis H. Allen (editor), Houghton Mifflin (Boston, 1910), ''Thoreau on Birds: notes on New England birds from the Journals of Henry David Thoreau , Beacon Press, (Boston, 1993), page 239:
    • There is a smart shower at 5 P.M., and in the midst of it a hummingbird is busy about the flowers in the garden, unmindful of it, though you would think that each big drop that struck him would be a serious accident.
  • (US, Southern, dated) Intense in feeling; painful. Used usually with the adverb intensifier right .
    • He raised his voice, and it hurt her feelings right smart .
    That cast on his leg chaffs him right smart .
  • (archaic) Efficient; vigorous; brilliant.
  • * Dryden
    • The stars shine smarter .
  • (archaic) Pretentious; showy; spruce.
    • a smart gown
  • (archaic) Brisk; fresh.
    • a smart breeze
    Synonyms
    * (exhibiting social ability) bright, capable, sophisticated, witty * (exhibiting intellectual knowledge) cultivated, educated, learned, see also * (good-looking) attractive, chic, stylish, handsome * silly
    Antonyms
    * (exhibiting social ability) backward, banal, boorish, dull, inept * (exhibiting intellectual knowledge) ignorant, uncultivated, simple * (good-looking) garish, , tacky
    Derived terms
    * smart aleck * smart as a whip * smart casual * smart off

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) smerte, from . More above.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A sharp, quick, lively pain; a sting.
  • Mental pain or suffering; grief; affliction.
  • * Milton
    • To stand 'twixt us and our deserved smart .
  • * Spenser
    • Counsel mitigates the greatest smart .
  • Smart-money.
  • (slang, dated) A dandy; one who is smart in dress; one who is brisk, vivacious, or clever.
    • (Fielding)

    Anagrams

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