What's the difference between dainty and pretty?

Dainty


Definition:

  • (n.) That which is delicious or delicate; a delicacy.
  • (n.) A term of fondness.
  • (n.) Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything.
  • (superl.) Rare; valuable; costly.
  • (superl.) Delicious to the palate; toothsome.
  • (superl.) Nice; delicate; elegant, in form, manner, or breeding; well-formed; neat; tender.
  • (superl.) Requiring dainties. Hence: Overnice; hard to please; fastidious; squeamish; scrupulous; ceremonious.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Had they bothered to inquire of a veteran from the ranks, they might have heard how exasperating it is to see the dainty long-range patriots of Labour thrashing it out with the staunch gutter jingoists of the Conservative party – and barely a non-commissioned vet among them.
  • (2) Across this relatively peaceful corner of the Horn of Africa, where black-headed sheep scamper among the thorn bushes, dainty gerenuk balance on their hind legs to nibble from hardy shrubs, and skinny camels wearing rough-hewn bells lumber over rocky slopes, people long accustomed to a harsh environment find they cannot cope after years of below-average rainfall.
  • (3) That was the week when the Bake Off contestants were called on to make dainty biscuits and elaborate gingerbread concoctions, following previous showdowns over who could make the fluffiest muffins and the creamiest custard tarts.
  • (4) His dainty close control was beautiful and took him past both Pique and Puyol; then, from 10 yards, he deliberately poked the ball wide of Casillas with his right foot, and it came flush off the post.
  • (5) Ighalo clearly had the beating of Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala, while Touré, playing in a midfield two alongside Fernandinho, had his ego pricked by a couple of dainty touches from José Manuel Jurado.
  • (6) Their denial fits perfectly with their support for free market economics, opposition to state intervention and hatred of all those latte-slurping, quinoa-munching liberals, with their arrogant manners and dainty hybrid cars, who presume to tell honest men and women how to live.
  • (7) From the outset, Arsenal had been the more sprightly and inventive, and that pattern continued when Cesc Fábregas clipped a dainty ball over the Spurs defence for Nasri to chase.
  • (8) Muamba dinked a deft reverse pass to Cattermole, who slipped a dainty ball behind the German defence in anticipation of a surge by Walcott.
  • (9) They are laughing at the dainty affectations of the Leawoof toffs.
  • (10) After a semi-final that saw platters of immaculate choux swans, jewel-coloured macaroons and dainty sponges put before the judges, the technical challenge – a stand of sweet fondant fancies, nestled, pink and delicious as if awaiting a party of angelic children – was a reminder that even a GBBO finalist still needs the guidance of Berry.
  • (11) Balotelli peeled off his marker to run on to it and then, from 10 yards, tried to lift a dainty lob over the advancing goalkeeper ... but it was the finish of a dilletante rather than a deadly striker and the ball dropped meekly wide.
  • (12) StickmanLA Life at the old soldiers' hotel In drama, seaside hotels are usually inhabited by retired colonels and majors in blazers, and dainty elderly ladies.
  • (13) From her oddly dainty presence that voice, a voice that seemed not to come from her but from somewhere beyond even Billie and Ella, from the font of all greatness.
  • (14) In person she is dainty, almost exaggeratedly ladylike, and much more playfully ambivalent than the public debate about her book.
  • (15) On Friday, Johnson and Dan Hannan said that in all probability the number of foreigners coming here won’t fall I am not going to be over-dainty about mendacity.
  • (16) Perhaps now is the time to reach for altogether plainer tableware and glasses, for Kaj Frank bowls at one end of the price range, but more likely to Duralex tumblers at the other as we face a future of, as it were, porridge and tap water rather than the fine wines and dainty dishes it's hard not to associate with Waterford and Wedgwood.
  • (17) A mong the many strangers to personal daintiness in Game of Thrones is a character called Shagga son of Dolf.
  • (18) And it was a goal of impressive daintiness, to boot.
  • (19) 3.00am GMT Packers 21 - 49ers 21, 0:03 2nd quarter Kaepernick is a maniac - there is no dainty QB slide with him.
  • (20) Jason Puncheon did well to recycle the ball to Yohan Cabaye after Albion cleared a corner and the Frenchman floated a dainty cross over Dawson towards the back post.

Pretty


Definition:

  • (superl.) Pleasing by delicacy or grace; attracting, but not striking or impressing; of a pleasing and attractive form a color; having slight or diminutive beauty; neat or elegant without elevation or grandeur; pleasingly, but not grandly, conceived or expressed; as, a pretty face; a pretty flower; a pretty poem.
  • (superl.) Moderately large; considerable; as, he had saved a pretty fortune.
  • (superl.) Affectedly nice; foppish; -- used in an ill sense.
  • (superl.) Mean; despicable; contemptible; -- used ironically; as, a pretty trick; a pretty fellow.
  • (superl.) Stout; strong and brave; intrepid; valiant.
  • (adv.) In some degree; moderately; considerably; rather; almost; -- less emphatic than very; as, I am pretty sure of the fact; pretty cold weather.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) As a Native American I am pretty sensitive to charges of racism and white supremacy,” the Oklahoma congressman added.
  • (2) Not making a sound for 24 hours pretty nearly killed me.
  • (3) The conclusion is to warn the orthopaedic surgeons to look carefully what model is behind the pretty coloured results.
  • (4) It may unsettle Exxon Mobil a little but they are pretty experienced now and I don’t think they would derail anything,” she said.
  • (5) United and West Ham are on similar runs and can feel pretty happy about themselves but are not as confident away from home as they are at home and that will have to change if they are to make ground on the top teams.
  • (6) When you hear the name Jesus, is the first image that comes to mind a dewy-eyed pretty boy with flowing locks?
  • (7) We’ve got a lot of work to do but I’m feeling pretty confident.
  • (8) Some offer a range, depending on whether you think you're a bit of a buff, and know a pinot meunier from a pinot noir and what prestige cuvée actually means or you just want to see a bit of the process and have a nice glass of bubbly at the end of it, before moving on to the next place – touring a pretty corner of France getting slowly, and delightfully, fizzled.
  • (9) No one condones what happened in the 70s, but I think this is pretty appalling."
  • (10) Which is good news for anyone who likes this kind of thing (which is, let's face it, pretty much everyone.
  • (11) Woodall added: “Pretty much everything [is a potential source for what we found].
  • (12) There's no doubt Twitter is, for those who are into that kind of thing, a first-class social networking medium (the proof: pretty much every other social networking site, including Facebook, has tried to buy it and, having failed, adopted a whole raft of blatantly Twitter-like features of their own).
  • (13) Pretty much every major toy brand, as well as apps like Angry Birds and Talking Friends, are spawning “webisodes” on YouTube as well as traditional ads, which often sit side-by-side within the same channel.
  • (14) She said the UK law on assisted suicide infringed Pretty's human rights, under article two of the European convention – the right to life.
  • (15) Facebook Twitter Pinterest Terms and Conditions May Apply – trailer It’s pretty simple, really.
  • (16) Parties are a tedious chore, while sponsorships are pretty tiresome too: can you remember the key messaging about that motor oil you agreed to plug to the nearest reporter?
  • (17) Chelsea might recover under similar circumstances, but I reckon they need a pretty big overhaul.
  • (18) I’ve seen Ukip both at home and abroad, and I’m sorry to say they’re pretty amateur.
  • (19) "I have always been of the view that it is a false dichotomy, and one that is pretty much built-in by our education system unfortunately," he said this weekend.
  • (20) Facebook Twitter Pinterest A bus belching smoke in Bogotá Pretty dirty.