eye of the beholder

Meaning

1. 1phraseidiomliterary

   The idea that how beautiful, good or valuable something is depends on the opinion of the person looking at it.

   Grammar: Usually appears after in: beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

   Patterns

   • in the eye of the beholder
   • beauty is in the eye of the beholder

   I think the painting is ugly, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

   Whether the new building is a masterpiece or an eyesore is in the eye of the beholder.

   Good taste, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

Common combinations

in the eye of the beholder

Value is often in the eye of the beholder.

beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so we cannot all agree.

lies in the eye of the beholder

Success lies in the eye of the beholder.

a matter for the eye of the beholder

Whether it looks good is a matter for the eye of the beholder.

Synonyms and how they differ

a matter of taste

This is a plain, everyday way to say people differ, while eye of the beholder is more poetic and tied to beauty.

subjective

This is the formal word for depending on personal opinion, whereas the idiom sounds more figurative.

each to their own

This accepts that people like different things, but is not about how things look.

in the eye of the viewer

This is a rare variant of the idiom with the same meaning but less familiar wording.

Opposites

Word family

behold verb

to see or look at something, in a literary way

beholder noun

a person who looks at something

beauty noun

the quality of being pleasing to look at

beautiful adjective

pleasing to the senses or mind

Commonly confused: eye of the beholder or eye of the storm?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “eye of the beholder”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words