Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Good looking for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "good-looking" — an adjective, pronounced /ɡʊd ˈlʊkɪŋ/, with the stress on "good".
Narrator: Good-looking means physically attractive, pleasing in appearance, usually describing a person's face or overall look.
Narrator: In plain English, good-looking simply means handsome or pretty, a straightforward compliment about appearance.
Narrator: It builds directly from "good" plus "looking", a simple, transparent compound describing pleasant appearance.
Narrator: It applies equally to any gender, unlike "handsome" or "pretty", which carry gendered associations.
Narrator: It differs from "beautiful" by casualness — good-looking feels more everyday, less intensely poetic.
Narrator: "A good-looking couple" describes two attractive people together, a common social observation.
Narrator: "Good-looking" can also casually describe a well-designed object, not only people specifically.
Narrator: So remember: good-looking is attractiveness made plain and neutral — a simple, gender-free compliment on appearance.
Speaker A: "Good-looking" feels like a safer compliment than "handsome" or "pretty" somehow. Is that actually a real advantage of the phrase?
Speaker B: A genuinely useful advantage! GOOD-LOOKING, from "good" plus "looking", works equally for anyone, unlike "handsome", typically for men, or "pretty", typically for women. It's neutral, casual, and universally applicable — a safe, simple compliment about appearance.
Speaker A: So it's really valued for its gender-neutral flexibility more than anything else?
Speaker B: Exactly — plus it feels a touch more casual than "beautiful" or "handsome", suiting everyday, relaxed conversation nicely!
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "He's a good-looking guy"; "she's quite good-looking"; "they make a good-looking couple" — casual compliments across different contexts.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Hyphenated as a compound adjective before a noun — "good-looking man" — check style guides for after-noun usage!
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: "Handsome" the male-leaning cousin, "pretty" the female-leaning twin, "attractive" the neutral formal alternative. Good-looking keeps its casual, gender-free ease!
Speaker B: Let's use "good-looking" in AI prompts — a casual way to describe polished, visually appealing UI design.
Speaker A: So good-looking in a prompt asks for polished, everyday visual appeal, not necessarily formal elegance?
Speaker B: Right. For a landing page, you'd write:
Prompt: Make this landing page good-looking with a clean layout, friendly colours, and easy-to-read typography throughout.
Speaker A: Good — what about a portfolio site?
Speaker B: The casual-polish prompt:
Prompt: Build a good-looking portfolio grid with hover effects on each project card, keeping the overall feel modern and simple.
Speaker A: A dashboard needing a quick visual refresh?
Speaker B: The refresh prompt:
Prompt: Make this admin dashboard good-looking without changing any functionality — just refresh the colours and spacing.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: The email-template prompt:
Prompt: Design a good-looking email newsletter template with a clear header, readable body text, and one strong call to action.
Speaker A: Good-looking always signals casual, everyday visual appeal, not high formality.
Speaker B: Exactly — say good-looking, and the AI keeps the design approachable.
Good looking — meaning in Arabic & definition More G courses GL Dictionary