Meaning & use
fetching
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Meaning
adjectivecomparableold-fashionedhumorous
Pleasantly attractive in a way that draws admiring looks, usually describing a person's appearance or clothes.
Grammar: Used before a noun (a fetching hat) or after a verb (she looked fetching).
Patterns
- look fetching
- a fetching something
She wore a fetching red scarf with her gray coat.
The puppy looked fetching in its tiny raincoat.
You look quite fetching in that hat.
Word forms
| comparative | more fetching |
|---|---|
| superlative | most fetching |
Common combinations
- a fetching smile
- He gave the waiter a fetching smile.
- look fetching
- You look fetching in that jacket.
- a fetching outfit
- She arrived in a fetching outfit of green and gold.
- fetching hat
- The old photo shows him in a fetching hat.
- rather fetching
- The scarf was rather fetching on her.
Synonyms and how they differ
- attractive
- Attractive is the everyday neutral word, while fetching is more playful and focuses on charm.
- becoming
- Becoming means that something suits the person wearing it, whereas fetching praises the overall effect.
- charming
- Charming covers personality and manner as well as looks, while fetching is mostly about appearance.
Opposites
Word family
- fetchingly adverb
- in an attractive, charming manner
- fetch verb
- to go and bring something back
Commonly confused: fetching or fetching (from fetch)?
fetching vs fetching (from fetch)
The -ing form of fetch means going to get something, as in fetching water; the adjective means attractive and is a separate use.
Practice
My grandmother said my new hat looked rather ___ on me.
Choose one answer.
Fetching is the adjective meaning attractive and follows looked; fetched and fetch are verb forms that do not fit here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fetching”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.