Dexterous; skillful; handy; ready; convenient; -- applied to things as persons. [Obs.] That they [engines of war] be both easy to be carried and handsome to be moved and turned about. Robynson (Utopia). For a thief it is so handsome as it may seem it was first invented for him. Spenser.
Agreeable to the eye or to correct taste; having a pleasing appearance or expression; attractive; having symmetry and dignity; comely; -- expressing more than pretty, and less than beautiful; as, a handsome man or woman; a handsome garment, house, tree, horse.
Suitable or fit in action; marked with propriety and ease; graceful; becoming; appropriate; as, a handsome style, etc. Easiness and handsome address in writing. Felton.
Evincing a becoming generosity or nobleness of character; liberal; generous. Handsome is as handsome does. Old Proverb.
Ample; moderately large. He . . . accumulated a handsome sum of money. V. Knox. To do the handsome thing, to act liberally. [Colloq.]
To render handsome. [Obs.] Donne
98,828 entries. Headwords are matched first, then definition text.