Cute is a word whose meaning has gone has gone through a thorough historical transformation. There is no argument about cute’s derivation: it is a shortening of acute (and was sometimes actually spelled ‘cute). Acute has meant “clever, shrewd” since Shakespeare’s time and has had a set of other meanings as well, but it has never been defined as “attractive or pretty.” The contraction cute first appears in the early 18th century, but only a century later does it begin to take on its distinctive modern meaning; even after 1900 children were still being called cute as a compliment to their intelligence. (Compare the contemporaneous word cunning, with its strikingly similar ambiguity.) A few years into the century, we start to see the word—finally!—in descriptions of puppies and kittens. But the original sense hasn’t completely vanished; in such sentences as “Don’t get cute with me,” cute has nothing to do with adorable sweetness.
Adjective she's very nice, but she's not afraid to get cute when there's something she wants we're having a serious discussion here, so cut the cute remarks
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Also, how cute would dogs be in little space helmets? Nate Odenkirk, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2022 His horns are too small, his teeth decidedly non-fanglike and his fuzzy green hair too cute. Emily Mcclanathan, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2022 In a post shared on his Instagram grid on Monday, September 13, Justin honored his wife with a cute black-and-white selfie of the couple with their dog. Carrie Wittmer, Glamour, 14 Sep. 2022 And peep this blue-gray style from Pistola that would be cute dressed up with heeled sandals for a date night or with your favorite sneakers for a casual look. Alex Warner, Peoplemag, 10 Sep. 2022 The daughter, Mia Wasikowska, refers to her moms in the plural, which is extremely cute and retro. Emma Specter, Vogue, 9 Sep. 2022 On September 3, the youngest D'Amelio sister posted a super cute selfie to show off her makeup and hairdo.Seventeen, 6 Sep. 2022 Um, and Yost says that this will serve as a warning to sketchy contractors and his quote was kind of cute. Staff Reports, cleveland, 9 Aug. 2022 With over 12,000 five-star reviews on Amazon, folks say these socks make a great gift and are super cute. Allie Early, Good Housekeeping, 27 July 2022
Noun
Lucy's 3-month picture on July 29 was all kids of cute. Andrea Wurzburger, Peoplemag, 17 Aug. 2022 The cute-and-cuddly side-scrolling shooter gets ported to the Genesis by the same team that ported Darius on the first Genesis Mini, with a new Easy Mode that wasn't in the arcades. Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 19 Aug. 2022 Which is a way of saying that Mr. Murakami is the master of an aspect of current Japanese visual culture: pushing the cute into the monstrous. Peter Plagens, WSJ, 13 Aug. 2022 Use the cute included ice scoop to dip into the storage bin, fill a Big Gulp–size cup with chewable nugget ice, and aah. Lauren Joseph, Bon Appétit, 12 July 2022 But any picture book that balances creepy with cute will be a best-seller for your kiddos. Elizabeth Berry, Woman's Day, 8 July 2022 Among the cute features is a glass-bottom-boat camera view, which compiles several feeds from low-mounted cameras to create an unobstructed view of the terrain beneath. Dan Neil, WSJ, 23 June 2022 The musically inclined couple recently returned to the setting of their meet cute for a new episode (streaming now on AppleTV+). Antonia Debianchi, PEOPLE.com, 13 June 2022 Dependent upon snowfall for insulation in a place where the snowpack has been reduced by 41 percent over the past 30 years, the cute-as-a-bunny pika (which has already vanished from a large section of the Sierra Nevada) may be in trouble here, too. Jon Waterman, Outside Online, 15 June 2020 See More