Meaning & use
boyish good looks
Last updated
Meaning
phraseplural
A young man's attractive appearance that seems fresh, youthful, and slightly innocent.
Grammar: Treated as plural because of 'looks'; use a plural verb: His boyish good looks make him popular.
Patterns
- have boyish good looks
- with boyish good looks
- his boyish good looks
He has boyish good looks that make him seem younger than he is.
The actor was chosen for his boyish good looks and easy smile.
Despite his boyish good looks, he is a serious and experienced lawyer.
Common combinations
- have boyish good looks
- He has boyish good looks that never seem to age.
- with boyish good looks
- She arrived with a young man with boyish good looks.
- his boyish good looks
- His boyish good looks won him many fans.
- boyish good looks and charm
- He combined boyish good looks and charm with real talent.
Synonyms and how they differ
- youthful appearance
- A neutral phrase that focuses on looking young, not necessarily on being attractive.
- baby face
- Informal and often slightly negative; it stresses a round, young-looking face rather than overall attractiveness.
Word family
- boyish adjective
- Having qualities thought typical of a boy; youthful or immature.
- boyishly adverb
- In a way that seems typical of a boy.
Commonly confused: boyish good looks or boyish charm?
boyish good looks vs boyish charm
This refers to a playful, youthful manner, not to physical appearance.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'boyish good looks' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase describes a young man's attractive appearance, so 'He has boyish good looks' fits. Option An is wrong because the phrase is used for males; option C is wrong because 'boyish' implies youth, not old age; option D is wrong because 'looks' cannot be serious in this sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “boyish good looks”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.