Friday, 01 January 2010
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What Is The Difference Between Cute, Pretty, Sexy, Beautiful, or Hot?
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It's interesting to note how words we used to describe people's physical appearances have changed over time and space. For instance, in Victorian times (and much later that for the matter), it was unheard of to use the word "hot" to describe an attractive male or female. This word (which is now so overused) has only recently entered the English lexicon. But what does "hot" actually mean? And does it mean the same thing for males and females? Hmmm - I wonder.
This also got me thinking about the variety of words we tend to use to describe people, especially when it comes to their appearance. So as I was searching the web this morning, I came across this question:
What's the difference between:
a) cute
b) pretty
c) sexy
d) beautiful
e) hot
I don't want to go into usual debate concerning inner and outer beauty. Instead I would solely like to base my questions on appearances. So...
What's the difference between cute, pretty, sexy, beautiful, and hot? What type of girl would you prefer to date?
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Comments (69)
lolimplants. This is all subjective, naturally.
Cute: More of an adorable look... but cute people to me usually have some sort of spunk that makes them stand out just that much. Think of the t-shirt and underwear girl mancouch posted about a while ago.
Pretty: simply means aesthetically pleasing. More attractive than not attractive... but I think it's the least powerful compliment of the 5. This and beautiful are really the only ones you should address your family with (seriously), I think.
Sexy: Sexually attractive in a classy (ish) way. A suave, gorgeous woman in top-quality lingerie. Enough said.
Beautiful: This is when outer looks compliment inner beauty. You need both to be beautiful. You can't be good looking and a bitch and be beautiful... conversely (this won't make people happy) I don't think you can be bad looking with a good personality and be beautiful. The term loses meaning.
Hot: Sexually attractive in a skanky way. Think of girls that wear seductive clothing when they go clubbing or whatever... or Megan Fox.
My 2c
- John
there was a post about this before a long time ago that gave very long descriptions and distinctions between the words. but it's all subjective anyway. i'd say cute/pretty are safe terms for platonic compliments. sexy/hot/beautiful seem to be geared more towards a potential SO, though cute/pretty are usable toward a romantic prospect too. you could call your cousin pretty but not sexy. but you could call an attractive girl any of those terms.
Well, I find all of these qualities to fall on a scale on which all attractive women fall, moving from cute to pretty to beautiful to sexy to hot. Cute sort of inherently implies nonsexual for me. Fluffy bunnies are cute. Pink ponies are cute. Cute is what you call kids in nice outfits with their hair done up for picture day. Though some women of age can do cute, I think they prefer to be elsewhere on the scale.
Pretty is facial attractiveness. No one has pretty tits or a pretty butt. Someone can have a pretty face and be, in every other possible way conceivable, completely unattractive.
Beautiful is pretty +. Beautiful can refer to classic beauty or simply to an overall high state of attractiveness. Unlike pretty, someone can have a beautiful body. It can be something totally nonsexual in the same sense that one might find a sculpture or a piece of art beautiful. Artistic nudes for example.
Sexy is pretty self explanatory... or is it? Sexy isn't necessarily inherently linked to merely physical appearance. Someone can have a sexy body and have a bad attitude about it (that shows) and may not read as sexy. Or they may select clothing that doesn't flatter their body or a hair style that doesn't do justice to their face and make their looks match their self esteem. Sexy can deal with the way a person moves, the looks they give, the way they talk, their mannerisms. There's a lot of wiggle room for the sexy category. For example, Jessica Rabbit. Actually, I would qualify her as hot but you get the point. Someone can be rather skanky in day to day life and still excell at giving off the sexy vibe when it suits them. Being sexy doesn't require a person to necessarily be beautiful or pretty or cute. A stripper, for example, can totally do sexy without being facially attractive (which is sort of a prerequisite for all of the others).
I view hot as the culmination of sexy and beautiful. They have the face. They have the body. They have the attitude. They give off the sexy vibe at will. Hot is where women that know that you know that they know that they're smoking come in. Hot is a playboy centerfold in all of her glory, with or without the clothes.
@striemmy@xanga - agreeed. summed it all up really well
Lets say on a scale of 1-10
cute is 6 and up
pretty is 7 and up
Sexy is 8 and up
Beautiful in 9 and up
Hot is 9.5 and up to 10
or whatever
Hmm, my boyfriend calls me all of those.
It depends on the degree of sexuality of the person. If the person (man or woman) makes your dick hard, that means (s)he's hot!
cute = rachel leigh cook
pretty = kristen kreuk
sexy = megan fox
beautiful = cindy crawford in her priime
hot = monica bellucci
me and my friend just had this convo at work, her mother told her that she'd never be "gorgeous" because she's not tall she would only be considered "cute" because short girls are "Cute". So we made fun of each other all night calling each other cuties..its kind of true though, either im just not that pretty or its because im short because i usually get called "Cute" im only 5'2 though
this topic, again?....
cute, pretty = harmless beauty that make you smile
beautiful = enchanting and charming
sexy, hot = dangerous, can cause damage to your wild imaginations
i kind of think the picture that goes with the post is pretty much all of those! haha
@The_Aftershock_3650@xanga - you pretty much got it covered.
i always get the cute label, but personally i think it's just because i'm so incredibly endearing. you gotta warm people's hearts to be cute.
In contrast to what everybody else is claiming, I've noticed that cute CAN be equal to pretty or sexy to some people, so I wouldn't be insulted if somebody just called me "cute".
I believe beautiful can have a biased meaning to it, whereas the other terms are solely based on surface-level assets. Sort of when a girl is asked about one of her less attractive friends, she'll go, "oh, well...she's a beautiful person", or something along those lines. On the other hand, it can also mean that someone has the whole package--looks coupled with a stunning personality.
I like cute. Hot makes me feel like she's just a piece of meat.
cute = a chick you have a small crush on
pretty = a hot chick you dont want anything serious with
sexy = you just want to nail it and nothing else
beautiful = girlfriends or girls that are probably future girlfriends or people with that princess look (note not all girlfriends are really beautiful but you say that to make them feel good)
hot = chicks you want to nail but are probably out of your league
I find them to be different levels of looking good I.E adorable, cute, pretty, beautiful, in that order. I think sexy and hott just refer to how bad u want a person. Sexy to me means classy, pretty, confident. Hot says I'm lusting after that body lol.
@striemmy@xanga - well-thought out reply... :)
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I would prefer to date an intelligent well rounded woman with a good sense of humor. Outward appearance is less of a factor than someone that is mentally and emotionally stimulating to be with. Women tend to be, and I'm sure this is well known, much more concerned about their appearance than men.
I think of it this way:
a) cute is a personality thing. A cute personality is the one that kinda makes your heart melt.
b) pretty is purely physical acceptance. This person's look pleases your eye.
c) sexy is enticing. When someone is sexy, you may get a little imaginative ;]
d) beautiful is a personality thing. No one can be beautiful on the outside without having beauty on the inside as well. Simple physical beauty is "pretty" (see point b).
e) hot is the word 12 year old boys (or 19 year olds with the mind of 12 year olds) use to describe females. I think it means the same as "sexy".
I would prefer my SO to consider me all of the above, as well as intelligent, interesting, creative, exciting, etc There's a time for each.
I love cute people =3 They make me smile unconciously lolz.
Out of the five, I'll say that "pretty" is the lowest compliment you can possibly give someone. When you see someone that is "cute" you just want to huggle that person. "Beautiful" defines inner beauty. Sexy is when they have an awesome body that you just want to touch. Hot is just the typical overused word that is used when a person finds someone attractive.
This is like the ratings of a lot of stuff: despite it's subjective aspect, a small elite gets away with the conscencus (for ie, a 6'1 nicely shaped muscly athletic male will be hot to the most, same for a petite super sexy female), then the rest will be subjectively shared between anything between cute, pretty and so on.
cute, pretty = people you date, and eventually introduce to your mom
hot, sexy = lust worthy, but not for a relationship because of the attention they'll bring.
beautiful = someone you can only dream about. and usuallly is the cute person you got to know on a deeper level
beautiful... someone who is both visually and mentally pleasing.
cute... reminds me of the steryotypcial "high school" look.
pretty.... a tolerable sort of beauty that is common, but still attractive. similar to cute but in a less "spunky way"
sexy... reminds me of mrs. robinson from the graduate. you don't necessarily need a "great body", but it's more in the way you carry yourself/how you act aroubnd others.
hot.. a really insulting comment, in my opinion. it simply means you have a playboy bunny body. kind of shalllowww.