Meaning & use
cutesy
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Meanings
adjectivecomparableinformaldisapproving
Trying too hard to be sweet or charming, in a way that feels forced and a little silly.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb: a cutesy name; it feels cutesy.
Patterns
- a cutesy something
I found the shop's cutesy names for its sandwiches annoying.
The cutesy baby talk made him cringe.
She avoided cutesy decorations in the office.
adjectivebefore a nouninformal
Overly sweet in design, with small decorative details such as hearts and bows.
Grammar: Mainly used for decor or style.
Patterns
- a cutesy design
The cafe had cutesy teacups with tiny bows.
He disliked the cutesy font on the invitation.
A cutesy bear logo covered the packaging.
Word forms
| comparative | cutesier |
|---|---|
| superlative | cutesiest |
Common combinations
- cutesy name
- The cutesy name of the band put me off.
- cutesy voice
- She used a cutesy voice to speak to the dog.
- cutesy design
- A cutesy design covered the notebook.
- cutesy slogan
- The brand's cutesy slogan felt fake.
- too cutesy
- The film felt too cutesy for adults.
Synonyms and how they differ
- twee
- Twee is British and stresses an old-fashioned, precious sweetness, while cutesy suggests a deliberately cute effect.
- saccharine
- Saccharine is stronger and implies sickly sweet sentiment.
- precious
- Precious here means affectedly refined or fussy, and can sound more pretentious than cutesy.
- cute
- Cute is mostly positive, but cutesy criticizes the effort being too obvious.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: cutesy or cute?
cutesy vs cute
Cute is usually a compliment, but cutesy is usually a mild criticism.
Practice
Which person is most likely to call a greeting card 'cutesy'?
Choose one answer.
Cutesy is a criticism about forced sweetness. The other options relate to other complaints.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cutesy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.