Tra từ pretty - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

pretty [pretty prettier prettiest pretties prettied prettying] adverb, adjective BrE [ˈprɪti] NAmE [ˈprɪti]
adverb (with adjectives and adverbs) (rather informal)
1. to some extent; fairly
• I'm pretty sure I'll be going.
• The game was pretty good.
•It's pretty hard to explain.
•I'm going to have to find a new apartment pretty soon.
2. very
• That performance was pretty impressive.
• Things are looking pretty good!
more at be sitting pretty at ↑sit

Word Origin:
Old English prættig; related to Middle Dutch pertich ‘brisk, clever’, obsolete Dutch prettig ‘humorous, sporty’, from a West Germanic base meaning ‘trick’. The sense development ‘deceitful, cunning, clever, skilful, admirable, pleasing, nice’ has parallels in adjectives such as canny, fine, nice, etc.

Thesaurus:
pretty adv. (AmE informal, BrE)
•I was pretty sure I'd seen him somewhere before.
fairly • • reasonably • |especially BrE quite • • rather •
pretty/fairly/reasonably/quite/rather good/successful/high/large/common/confident
pretty/fairly/reasonably/quite/rather well/soon/quickly/easily
pretty/fairly/quite/rather bad/big/new/tired/dull/difficult/expensive/dangerous

Which Word?:
quite / fairly / rather / pretty
Look at these examples:
▪ The exam was fairly difficult.
▪ The exam was quite difficult.
▪ The exam was rather difficult.
Quite is a little stronger than fairly, and rather is a little stronger than quite. Rather is not very common in NAmE; pretty has the same meaning and this is used in informal BrE too: ▪ The exam was pretty difficult.
In BrE quite has two meanings: ▪ I feel quite tired today (= fairly tired). With adjectives that describe an extreme state (‘non-gradable’ adjectives) it means ‘completely’ or ‘absolutely’: ▪ I feel quite exhausted. With some adjectives, both meanings are possible. The speaker’s stress and intonation will show you which is meant: ▪ Your essay is ˈquite good (= fairly good — it could be better); ▪ Your essay is quite ˈgood (= very good, especially when this is unexpected).
In NAmE quite usually means something like ‘very’, not ‘fairly’ or ‘rather’. Pretty is used instead for this sense.

Example Bank:
•Flying those planes was pretty hard work.
•I was pretty sure I'd seen the coin before.
•I was surprised to find my French was still pretty good.
•I'm afraid we're going to have to go pretty soon.
•It came at the end of a pretty miserable week.
Idioms: ↑as pretty as a picture ▪ ↑not a pretty sight ▪ ↑not just a pretty face ▪ ↑pretty much ▪ ↑pretty penny
Derived Words: ↑prettily ▪ ↑prettiness

adjective (pret·tier, pret·ti·est)
1. (especially of a woman, or a girl)attractive without being very beautiful
•a pretty face
•a pretty little girl
• You look so pretty in that dress!
2. (of places or things)attractive and pleasant to look at or to listen to without being large, beautiful or impressive
•pretty clothes
•a pretty garden
•a pretty name
more at come to a pretty pass at ↑pass _n.

Word Origin:
Old English prættig; related to Middle Dutch pertich ‘brisk, clever’, obsolete Dutch prettig ‘humorous, sporty’, from a West Germanic base meaning ‘trick’. The sense development ‘deceitful, cunning, clever, skilful, admirable, pleasing, nice’ has parallels in adjectives such as canny, fine, nice, etc.

Thesaurus:
pretty adj.
1.
•She's a very pretty girl.
beautiful • • attractive • • good-looking • • striking • • handsome • |especially BrE lovely • |informal gorgeous • • stunning • |especially AmE, informal cute •
Opp: plain
a/an pretty/beautiful/attractive/good-looking/striking/handsome/lovely/gorgeous/stunning/cute girl/woman
a/an pretty/beautiful/attractive/good-looking/handsome/lovely/gorgeous/cute boy
a/an pretty/beautiful/attractive/good-looking/striking/handsome/lovely/cute face
2.
•Lydia— what a pretty name!
beautiful • • attractive • • picturesque • • scenic • • charming • • exquisite • |especially BrE lovely •
a/an pretty/beautiful/attractive/picturesque/charming place/town/village
a/an pretty/beautiful/attractive/exquisite/lovely design
a/an pretty/beautiful/attractive/charming/exquisite/lovely voice

Synonyms:
beautiful
pretty • handsome • attractive • lovely • good-looking • gorgeous
These words all describe people who are pleasant to look at.
beautiful • (especially of a woman or girl) very pleasant to look at: ▪ She looked stunningly beautiful that night.
pretty • (especially of a girl or woman) pleasant to look at: ▪ She's got a very pretty face.
Pretty is used most often to talk about girls. When it is used to talk about a woman, it usually suggests that she is like a girl, with small, delicate features.
handsome • (of a man) pleasant to look at; (of a woman) pleasant to look at, with large strong features rather than small delicate ones: ▪ He was described as ‘ ▪ tall, dark and handsome ▪ ’.
attractive • (of a person) pleasant to look at, especially in a sexual way: ▪ She's a very attractive woman.
lovely • (of a person) beautiful; very attractive: ▪ She looked particularly lovely that night.
When you describe sb as lovely, you are usually showing that you also have a strong feeling of affection for them.
good-looking • (of a person) pleasant to look at, often in a sexual way: ▪ She arrived with a very good-looking man.
gorgeous • (informal) (of a person) extremely attractive, especially in a sexual way: ▪ You look gorgeous!
attractive or good-looking?
If you describe sb as attractive you often also mean that they have a pleasant personality as well as being pleasant to look at; good-looking just describes sb's physical appearance.
a(n) beautiful/pretty/handsome/attractive/lovely/good-looking/gorgeous girl/woman
a(n) beautiful/handsome/attractive/good-looking/gorgeous boy/man
a(n) beautiful/pretty/handsome/attractive/lovely/good-looking face

Example Bank:
•She's very attractive, though not conventionally pretty.
•‘I didn't know you could play the piano.’ ‘I'm not just a pretty face, you know!’
•A pretty little girl was standing in the doorway.
•Lydia— what a pretty name!
•She's got a very pretty face.
•That's a pretty flower— what's it called?
•You should have seen him in his swimming trunks— not a pretty sight!

See also: ↑pretty near ▪ ↑pretty nearly