aesthetic

1 of 2

adjective

aes·​thet·​ic es-ˈthe-tik 

is-,

 British usually  ēs-

variants also US esthetic or aesthetical or US esthetical

es-ˈthe-ti-kəl 

is-,

 British usually  ēs-

1

a

: of, relating to, or dealing with aesthetics or the beautiful

aesthetic theories

b

: artistic

a work of aesthetic value

c

: pleasing in appearance : attractive

… easy-to-use keyboards, clear graphics, and other ergonomic and aesthetic features …

—Mark Mehler

2

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

also : responsive to or appreciative of what is pleasurable to the senses

his aesthetic sensibility

3

: done or made to improve a person's appearance or to correct defects in a person's appearance

aesthetic plastic surgery

aesthetically adverb

or less commonly esthetically

es-ˈthe-ti-k(ə-)lē 

is-,

 British usually  ēs-

aesthetic

2 of 2

noun

aes·​thet·​ic es-ˈthe-tik 

is-,

 British usually  ēs-

variants or less commonly esthetic

1

aesthetics also esthetics es-ˈthe-tiks 

is-,

 British usually  ēs-

plural in form but singular or plural in construction : a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste and with the creation and appreciation of beauty

2

: a particular theory or conception of beauty or art : a particular taste for or approach to what is pleasing to the senses and especially sight

modernist aesthetics

staging new ballets which reflected the aesthetic of the new nation

—Mary Clarke & Clement Crisp

3

aesthetics also esthetics plural : a pleasing appearance or effect : beauty

appreciated the aesthetics of the gemstones

Did you know?

The Singular (Or Plural) Art of Aesthetics

The noun aesthetic is often found used in its plural form. In the plural form, aesthetics can refer to the theory of art and beauty—and in particular the question of what makes something beautiful or interesting to regard:

Although he could extemporize animatedly about the history of the valve seat grinder, or the art of ropemaking, or how long it took to manually drill blast holes into a deposit of coal, aesthetics were another matter. The unlikely beauty of his rusty treasures defied elaboration.
Donovan Hohn, Harper’s, January 2005

This sense is sometimes encountered in constructions that treat it as singular:

With the removal of the studio packages, those cinema owners still providing double features began exploring less arbitrary and more justified pairings of films. The double feature became a special element of movie houses concentrating on the presentation of classic and art films. And this is where an aesthetics of the double feature emerges.
Chadwick Jenkins, PopMatters, 16 Aug. 2016

So Sontag was wrong to describe camp as an "unserious, 'aesthete's' vision." Aesthetics is always serious when agreed-upon interpretations are changed or stolen or emptied out.
Dave Hickey, Harper's, December 2009

A word that follows a similar pattern is poetics, (which also happens to be the title of a work by Aristotle focusing on literary theory and discourse):

A poetics of film, he has argued, seeks to reveal the conventions that films use to achieve their effects-and cognitive explanations provide insight into how and why filmic conventions, like shot-reverse-shot or empathy close-ups, produce the effects they do.
Alissa Quart, Lingua Franca, March 2000

As a plural noun, aesthetics can also be used as a synonym for beauty:

For reasons of economy and aesthetics, though, most of the house was stick built and is perfectly cozy without any elaborate beam work.
Andrew Vietze, Down East, May 2003

Synonyms

Adjective

• attractive
• beauteous
• beautiful
• bonny [chiefly British]
• bonnie
• comely
• cute
• drop-dead
• fair
• fetching
• good
• good-looking
• goodly
• gorgeous
• handsome
• knockout
• likely
• lovely
• lovesome
• pretty
• ravishing
• seemly
• sightly
• stunning
• taking
• well-favored

Noun

• attractiveness
• beauteousness
• beautifulness
• beauty
• comeliness
• cuteness
• fairness
• gorgeousness
• handsomeness
• looks
• loveliness
• prettiness
• sightliness

Examples of aesthetic in a Sentence

Adjective

My generation has an annoying penchant for treating luxuries as necessities and turning guilty pleasures into aesthetic and even moral touchstones. —Terrence Rafferty, GQ, October 1997

Whereas the essence of Proust's aesthetic position was contained in the deceptively simple yet momentous assertion that "a picture's beauty does not depend on the things portrayed in it." —Alain de Botton, How Proust Can Change Your Life, 1997

I suppose that jazz listening and prizefight watching are my two most passionate avocations, and this is largely so because the origins of my aesthetic urges are in the black working class. —Gerald Early, "The Passing of Jazz's Old Guard: … ," in The Best American Essays 1986, Elizabeth Hardwick & Robert Atwan, editors,  1986

There are practical as well as aesthetic reasons for planting trees.

making aesthetic improvements to the building

Noun

Aesthetics is an important part of Greek philosophy.

the aesthetics of the gemstones

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

By contrast, animation foregrounds the pictorial, which is its own aesthetic doctrine. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024

Designed for durability and comfort, these textiles enhance both functionality and aesthetic appeal. —Sj Studio, Sourcing Journal, 4 Nov. 2024

Noun

While designs by Ettore Sottsass tie into Dossena’s contemporary reworking of the Space Age aesthetic, some of his choices were more unexpected, like a pair of monkey sculptures by François-Xavier Lalanne, estimated at 1.5 million euros to 2 million euros. —Joelle Diderich, WWD, 5 Nov. 2024

Much of polvo rosa’s rise in the club scene can be attributed to its Instagram-ready aesthetic. —Celia Ford, Vox, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

borrowed from German ästhetisch "pertaining to taste or discernment," borrowed from New Latin aestheticus, borrowed from Greek aisthētikós "of sense perception, sensitive, perceptive," from aisthētós "sensible, perceptible" (verbal adjective of aisthánomai, aisthánesthai "to perceive, take notice of, understand," going back to *awis-t^h-, from *awis-, base of Greek aḯein "to perceive, hear" + -t^h-, resultative noun suffix) + -ikos -ic entry 1 — more at audible entry 1

Note: German aesthetisch/ästhetisch (New Latin aestheticus) was initially promulgated as a philosophical term in the work of Alexander Baumgarten (1714-62) and subsequently by Immanuel Kant.

Noun

borrowed from German Ästhetik, borrowed from New Latin aesthetica, from feminine of aestheticus aesthetic entry 1 — more at -ics

First Known Use

Adjective

1812, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1822, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing aesthetic

• aesthetic distance
• non-aesthetic

Kids Definition

aesthetic

adjective

aes·​thet·​ic

variants or esthetic

es-ˈthet-ik,

is-

: of or relating to beauty or what is beautiful

aesthetically

-i-k(ə)-lē

adverb

Medical Definition

aesthetic

adjective

aes·​thet·​ic es-ˈthe-tik, British usually ēs- 

: done or made to improve a person's appearance or to correct defects in a person's appearance

aesthetic plastic surgery

Dentists are still drilling and filling, but the fastest growing part of the practices are aesthetic procedures, such as bleaching teeth and using tooth-colored material for fillings …

—Sarah Skidmore, The San Diego Union-Tribune