From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishprettypret‧ty1 /ˈprɪti/ ●●● S1 W3 adverb [+adj/adverb] spoken 1 QUITE/FAIRLYfairly or more than a little I’m pretty sure he’ll say yes. She still looks pretty miserable.RegisterIn written English, people usually avoid pretty and use fairly instead:The consequences of this are fairly obvious.2 VERYvery Dinner at Luigi’s sounds pretty good to me.3 → pretty well/much4 → pretty nearly → be sitting pretty at sit(9)
Examples from the Corpus
pretty• It's pretty cold today.• Well, that was pretty dumb of me, to even consider doing something so demeaning, I thought.• Six o'clock? That's pretty early.• I thought the test was pretty easy.• Perception was pretty much neurophysiology: sensory inhibition, Mach band phenomena, iconic storage, and the like.• I felt pretty nervous going into the exam, but after I got started I loosened up some.• I had to divert him pretty quickly!• We are certainly setting pretty right now.• The problem is that the core looks pretty rotten.• I was pretty sure Dilip would find the dang about as interesting as mud.• "It's pretty tough work, " he wearily confessed.prettypretty2 ●●● S2 W3 adjective (comparative prettier, superlative prettiest) 1 BEAUTIFUL/GOOD-LOOKINGa woman or child who is pretty has a nice attractive face a pretty little girl Maria looks much prettier with her hair cut short.► see thesaurus at beautiful2 NICEsomething that is pretty is pleasant to look at or listen to but is not impressive a pretty dress The tune is pretty. What a pretty little garden!3 → not a pretty sight4 → not just a pretty face5 → come to a pretty pass6 → cost a pretty penny7 → pretty as a picture —prettily adverb Charlotte sang very prettily. —prettiness noun [uncountable]Examples from the Corpus
pretty• A very long time ago, she must have been pretty.• Then she added, My sister will be even prettier.• Nancy is younger than I am and much prettier.• She has a pretty face.• pretty flowers• A pretty girl like you should have a boyfriend.• Maureen's really pretty, isn't she?• Their pretty lace design is repeated on the side tables, lamps and blanket box.• They had an aquarium with lots of pretty little fish.• I felt really emotional as I gazed at her, realising how fast my pretty little girl was growing up.• And see how he always touches her head, gives her the prettiest ribbons for her braid?• They were far from being a pretty sight but he forced himself to carry out as thorough an investigation as he could.• We walked down the pretty, tree-lined avenue.• a pretty village on the Suffolk border• You have a really pretty voice.• The room was decorated with pretty wallpaper with yellow flowers on it.• What a pretty watch!• Doesn't she look pretty with her hair up?• She was at times a pretty woman.Origin pretty2 Old English prættig “tricky”, from prætt “trick” 