It is common in informal speech and writing but is neither rare nor wrong in serious discourse. We can use pretty as an adverb, before an adjective or another adverb, meaning ‘quite, but not extremely’ … that's a pretty hat you're wearing The sofa was covered in very pretty flowery material She's got such a pretty daughter She looked pretty in a simple cotton dress.
Something or someone that is pretty is pleasing to the eye But calling someone pretty isn’t quite the same as calling them beautiful, handsome, or lovely. When particularly stressed, the adverb pretty serves almost to diminish the adjective or adverb that it modifies, by emphasizing that there are greater levels of intensity. There are 20 meanings listed in oed's entry for the word pretty, four of which are labelled obsolete See ‘meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence. Some common synonyms of pretty are beautiful, comely, fair, handsome, and lovely
Pretty privilege is the tendency for people who are viewed as more attractive or pretty to receive more opportunities, benefits, attention, or other perks than their less attractive counterparts [1] the concept of pretty privilege does not have a founding figure but rather emerged through online feminist discourse about how women are expected to be attractive, especially relative to men If you describe someone as pretty, you mean that they are attractive She's a very charming and very pretty girl.
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