raeanna74

I tried to do a search but I'm not quite sure how to search for this. I don't recall a thread quite like this unless it was in a forum I don't frequent but I think that's unlikely.

Down to my question. I guess it's mostly for guys but I want to know what girls think too. I wonder too if there's a difference between guys and girls definitions. What exactly would you define as a girl being pretty; one who's beautiful; and one who's hot? What would you say the differences were? What makes a woman beautiful but not hot? and visa versa?

I asked hubby this and got a general idea of what he thought defined the particular terms.

For you girls too - What would would be the differences between guys who are hot, or handsome? Or maybe there's another term you use for the kind you are most attracted to.

This is partly to clarify the differences and I'm also curious to see what difference of opinion there might be between the sexes, if there IS any difference.

I will post back later with what I view as being hot, beautiful, or pretty. I don't want to bias any of the responses.

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sailor

I was actually just about to start a thread on this.

I dont use "pretty" very much. To me it is a trait, a subset that hot and beautiful are both built on, although both are completely different.

Hot, to me, implies a woman is is sexually attractive. She may not be someone I would want to date, or even someone I would even want to have sex with. It is purely a physical thing.

Beautiful to me implies a stately, attractive woman. Carries herself well, and is certainly attractive, but not necessarily as much sexually so as "hot." But I far prefer a beautiful woman to a hot one.

Examples? Id say that someone like Natalie Portman or Nicole Kidman is beautiful, while someone like Britney Spears is hot (actually, I dont think she really is, she does nothing for me, but its a good example).

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SinisterMotives

I don't care much for the terms "hot" or "hottie" myself. This appears to be something the younger generation came up with to describe someone whose appearance incites lust. I'm with Sailor in saying I prefer a beautiful woman - one who is poised, graceful, charming, and pleasing to the eye - over one who simply looks good in skimpy clothes.

fearwall

Hot = super attractive at that particular moment. Meaning once she wipes off the war paint and drops the hoochie clothes she could be hideous beast. It's a comment usually made in passing and only when the object in view is "at their best".

Beauty is an absolute quality of just natural perfection. Looks great any time of the day and any environment.

You said Pretty - I like to use the word cute myself. Cute is a combination of being attractive and having an favorable personality. Basically what most men *ultimately* strive to cohabitate with/marry. Overall attractive to us with a personality that doesn't drive us to homicide.

Beauty & pretty/cute can be interchanged when you have an emotional involvement with someone.

Probably narrowminded and simplified - but how I've rationalized the differences to my wife.

skinnymofo

to me-
pretty is the cute girl next door type, quiet smart and usually a 7-9 out of 10.
beautiful is the girl who is a little past the girl next door and goes out and parties.
and hot is the chick whose good looking, wears the skimpy clothes because she knows shes hot and believes the the most popular thing in the world.
now i realize these seem like stereotypes and bad things but i mean all this in non insulting ways. kind of more compliments even.
i hope that made sense

SinisterMotives

I take "pretty" to mean that a girl has a naturally good looking face without necessarily having the body or refined carriage or demeanor to go with it - a sort of diamond in the rough, if that makes sense.

wonderwench

I think of a handsome man as someone who is superficially good looking - skin deep. I have never felt attracted to men who are "prettier" than I am - and I do not get the whole metrosexual thing.

A hot man has a sharp intellect and wit. To me, the brain is the largest errogenous zone. I do enjoy broad shoulders, strong arms, a muscular ass, etc. A nice physical vessel for a fabulous brain is an incredible turn-on.

SinisterMotives

Same here, Wenchie. A picturesque turn of phrase from a girl is more of a turn-on for me than anything she might accomplish with makeup and wardrobe.

Holo

Like SM said, Hot is someone who makes me think of fucking on sight.

Pretty is a nice or smart girl with attractive features that I don't automatically think of sexually. She's sexually attrractive but just as appealing in other ways as well.


Beautiful is attractiveness that transcends mere sexual attraction. It's more of worship than mere lust or appreciation. This is a woman that you accept instantly the chances of you getting a date let alone sex are about the same as anal with Britney Spears caught on video.



The best type? A girl that is beautiful to you, if not anyone else.

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raeanna74

These sounds about right on to what hubby told me he felt and what made sense to me. I guess I'd say

Pretty/Cute would be the person who has some general attractiveness in personality and/or appearance.

Beautiful would be someone who can look good in simple attire with little to no makeup. Someone who is pleasant to look at in almost any circumstance. Even when they first get up in the morning.

Hot is someone who incites lust as was mentioned.

Pretty and beautiful - a guy might consider to marry, hot - he might not want to marry, depending on the girl.
I like when hubby tells me I'm hot when I'm feeling naughty. But what I want in the long run is to be that pretty or beautiful woman that exudes such inner beauty as to be attractive anytime. I've seen some people that wouldn't be used in modeling but their personality and the joy they exude makes them beautiful.

IN terms of men - Hot is a man who has the body. Handsome is one who looks clean and has the demeaner of a gentleman.

I think in general Handsome and Beautiful are those who are less outwardly making an attempt at making themselves attractive. Less conscious perhaps of the attractiveness even.
Those that are pretty and are just satisfied with their own body as it is have a more substantial beauty.

I hope that makes sense.

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pinkie

Someone I find attractive is usually all these things rolled into one. All of those wonderful qualities that get you squirming in your seat. If you’re a dork, you're a hot/pretty/beautiful dork. If you're a little indie nerd, then you're a hot little pretty indie nerd that's beautiful, and so on... Works with anyone; Businessmen, pizza delivery boys, the plumber. If you're hot, you're hot.

I've never been into any particular kind of guy, but somehow I always end up with the skinny, boyishly charming guys. To me, that's the hottest/prettiest/most beautiful.

Aladdin Sane

Pretty-- nice to look at, a sense of innocense comes through, but not overt sensuality. Feminine and smart. Possibly a ball-buster.

Beautiful -- drop-dead gorgeous. Often exudes an air of untouchability. Feminine, sexy, and mysterious. May be unaware of her power over men.

Hot -- pretty or beautiful with a definate air of sensuality, eroticizm, mystery, and lust. Irrational in some of her choices, she can be driven to act by her lust.

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fallenangel

*sigh* -> worst nightmares realized... damn i'm sick of being summed up as 'cute'.


*9 doctors out of 10 recommend the phrase "CUTE" for Fallenangel... *


Agreed however... i use the phrase handsome on a gent when i take everything in. Movement, speech, appearance and the substance behind it all. I probably don't tell enough people they're handsome when they are.

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hy_

Hot: very attractive physically
Beautiful: She's not hot but good looking.
Pretty: Usually a nice face.

Sleepyjack

I find that i'd use cute as a safer way of describing someone rather than hot, even when they're hot, not cute. As hot generally infers that you'd like to sleep with them, cute is a safe answer to describe someone you may be attarcted to (unless you're with all your guy friends, so you say hot; it depends )

I agree with Holo though and whoever else implied it

Hot = Causes sexual thought
Beautiful = Attractiveness that transcends appearance
Pretty/Cute = Somewhere inbetween

Church

For me, beauty goes much deeper than the outside. Beauty starts with a nice smile, eyes, etc., then it goes down to personality and morals.

If a girl's hot, then she's basically just a girl I want to do. Hot doesn't really mean anything more for me.

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bodymassage3

Beautiful < Hot < Pretty, from greatest to least.

ruggerp11

Hot: sexually attractive, someone I would like to hump
Cute: awwww, cute explains it all as well as 'you're kinda cute'
pretty: I feel like its kind of like cute
When I see a girl that I believe is attractive and not just sexually, to me she is 'beautiful.' Someone I could stare at all day is beautiful. Beautiful gets a *sigh*

Fallen Angel? *sigh*

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Key

i'm a guy, sooo...

Hot would be someone that spurs lust. Someone I would imagine naked, someone that I'm sexually attracted to. It implies nothing but physical appearance.

Cute encompasses more traits, including their personality. Someone bubbly, joyful, always smiling. This is probably my favorte. My ex fit in this category perfectly. I love cute.

Pretty refers again to just physical appearnce. She's more mundane than hot, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Implies nothing about personality.

Beautiful is someone with good aesthetic qualities, but does not necessarily inspire lust. Beautiful usually means symmetrical, good figure but more down to earth. In comparison to hot, hot is more unrealistic.

Hot is something that's good for one night stands. Cute good for long term. You CAN have both though. My ex was both hot and cute. Her personality was cute, but she was smokin' physically as well. Dammit. =(

Tom Thumb

They're all physical unless you're specifically discussing someone's personality. Hot is the sexual aspect, as I'm sure people here have said before me. A cute person can still be someone you want to fuck, but not so much in the animalistic sense, to simplify absurdly and be a little inaccurate in the process. Beauty is more of a classical thing.

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todd

This is actually something I've thought about a bunch and discussed with friends. Cute/Pretty girls are my type of girl. Don't get me wrong, I love hot girls and especially love looking at them, but for a serious relationship i'd have a better time in the long run with a pretty or cute girl. I also know really hot girls who don't dress up at all and are totally reserved.

Usually when I think of a pretty girl I get the 'girl next door' type, just like what skinnymofo said earlier. I really like these type of girls.
I like a pretty girl whose quiet at first, untill you get to know her. Pretty girls are good looking in their own way, but the 'prettyness' goes deeper than that.

I've spent the last 20 minutes typing paragraphs and then deleting them because it doesn't sound right. I'm having a difficult time breaking these terms down. But I think the truth is, you can't.
I hate stereotyping, but do you know what I realized? Stereotypes are true. They are true because we make them true. Some may say they don't like them or don't use them, but it's too late. It's already burned into their skull.

I'm giving up on typing my explanations because it's impossible get my entire point across. Theres too many acceptions to each of the terms. I know girls who dress like a hot girl, but their personality is more that of a pretty girl. All terms have extremes, and all points between.

Arsenic7

That's odd...traditionally I think the opposite definitions would be more valid. Handsome, I believe, generally denotes character as well as looks.

When i say I think a girl is Hot I usually mean that her body is well toned. She has an air of sex appeal about her but I'm not necessarily attracted to her. When I say a girl is cute it usually denotes attraction. Pretty is sort of a youthful, innocent look. Beautiful is usually reserved for times when the look of someone or something strikes me emotionally or on an intellectual level.

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froseph

I'm sorta with everquestjoe. I'm far more attracted to "cute" women than those that are "hot" or "beautiful". I think hot is someone who is attractive in a purely sexual sort of way. Beautiful and pretty arn't really terms a use, and I don't really know how to describe them. I think these terms are really subjective and hard to describe. I remember using "pretty" more often when i was younger so i associate that with a younger version of beautiful, but that's not really meaningful at all. I think beautiful is someone who isn't hot, but still good looking and also dresses well. But maybe i'll change my mind later, because these trems are highly subjective.

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xepherys

I've actually had an ex or two get bent out of shape over this due to my definitions... I guess everyone's are a bit different. Besides which... even if two people define beautiful and pretty the same way, some might think one is "better" than the other.

I generally would say:

Pretty - attractive. Could potentially be any of the other definitions. That or "girl nextdoor" type of attractive. One of my personal favorites.

Beautiful - I think society more or less defined this one. This is your model-type. Poised, graceful, leggy, tall, cheekbone definition. That type of thing. These girls tend to be VERY attractive, though I personally am not "attracted" to beautiful girls. Just not my type I guess

Hot (or Hott) - I agree with most of the posts that say this tends to be a sexual/physical thing. This is often the club-going girl in the tube top and short shorts or skirts that flaunt their stuff. While it might create a serious lustfulness in most guys (including myself) I stay away from this type because they are often a little slutty for my liking (not ALL of them, but wht risk it).

Cute - My favorite "classification" of attractiveness. This is hard to pin specifically, but I think "cute" is a fairly agreed on definition as well. Freckles, slightly turned noses, rounder faces, pigtails, things of that nature. Cute girls are completely my thing (My wife is so damned cute!!!).

In the end, I guess maybe the definitions are fairly common, but people's preferences vary. My ex had fits for almost a year because I thought she was "cute" and not "hot". *sigh* If she were hot, I wouldn't have probably ever gone out with her. Oh well...

pig

First, let me say that I'm giving my definitions in the sense that I use them personally, not as an expression with friends. Basically, I'm not talking about the use of "yeah, she's cute" when describing a friend's best friend so you don't offend anyone. With that said, here are my definitions.

cute/pretty - someone I recognize is physically attractive, but not really my type.

beautiful - someone in the cute/pretty range, who is my type.

hot - someone in the beautiful type, who is currently shooting lighting bolts out of her orifices and is causing me to have trouble walking across the room without feeling like I need to constantly adjust myself.

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analog

Cute is awesome, rejoice in your cuteness! My ideal girl falls into a category i've named, "SO cute, it's hot." As in, they're so incredibly cute, that it's hot. That is better than regular "hot" to me by a long shot.

Beautiful is usually lined up with cuteness... if they're truly beautiful, it's usually very cute.

I don't ever use "pretty" to describe a person. I do, however, use "gorgeous" as a substitute for beautiful, on occasion.

xepherys

Well, post your pic here and we'll tell you... but if you truly are cute, be prepared! :-p

ratbastid

Actually, having seen your pics, I'd go more for "adorable" on you.

And now to the question.

I think lurkette is beautiful, for instance, when she wakes up in the morning. The restless time between waking up and getting out of bed, she is the most beautiful thing in the whole world.

She's hot when she's feeling naughty. Actually, most any girl feeling naughty can be hot--prettiness or beauty isn't really such a big factor in hotness.

xepherys

I tend to think of adorable as just being REALLY cute... which is a good thing!

jRuntlets

I think guys typically think of a "hot" woman as someone who is extremely sexually attractive, and that upon first glance summons up the idea of sex.

Beautiful is one of those endearing words some men use just to make a woman feel better. My true perception of "beautiful" is a woman with class. She's educated, worldly, is full of personality, and has an opinion.

A beautiful woman typically has more substance than a hot woman. IMO.

A hot guy is just the same definition of a hot woman.

A handsome man is just the same definition of a beautiful woman.

I'd rather be with a "handsome" guy, than a hot guy. The guys I find "handsome" dont' typically find themselves that handsome. I love the bookish, worldy types.

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Mantus

Neat thread.

I dont use the word "hot" too often when I talk about girl with other people. I generally like to point out the features that I am drawn to the most when I comment on a girl. Saying "she is hot" really doesn’t give enough credit to a good looking girl. "Hot" signifies that she looks good and that I would like to jump her. Generally if a girl looks good a guy would want to jump her so there is no point stating the two most obvious things about the individual.

Usually I use "hot" as a compliment during those rare moments when calling her gorgeous or beautiful just doesn’t cut it. It’s quite a potent statement. Great for those times when she is doubtful of how a dress or a bikini looks on her. Though a more precise description of what makes her “hot” should always precede or follow the statement. Otherwise it makes you sounds shallow. The comment is like an exclamation mark, which also means that it loses its effect if used too often.

That my two cent…um…whole piggy bank.

Trisk

Well I'm a girl, so I don't say "hot" that much but here is what comes to mind when I think of each of those words:

Hot - a girl who has a good body but not necessarily the best face

Pretty - A girl who has a nice face but not necessarily the best body

Beautiful - I think of this as a certain type of look. Usually beautiful people, to me, have a pretty traditional good looking type of face (high cheekbones, full lips) and are thin. They don't necessarily need to have a hot body...they just need to be pleasing to the eye. Usually when you think of them, it's more in an appreciative way than a sex way.



Now for the guy terms. Usually when I am talking about guys, I'll use the term "cute", "hot", or "sexy"

Sexy - This usually means they have a good sense of style. I like how they dress. I usually consider this type to have more of a lean body, although they can be somewhat muscular. Oh yeah, and they usually have a good looking face but not necessarily the type that all girls sigh and turn heads over. This is my favorite type.

Hot - they don't need to have the best face, although it should be okay. But they do have a good, usually more muscular body type. A lot of people like this, though, tend to be more aware of their looks and try a bit too hard.

Cute - Men who are cute usually have an almost girly type of face. Sometimes I will refer to them as "pretty" as well. A lot of girls sigh and turn heads after seeing cute faces. They usually don't have the best body but they're okay. Out of the three, this would be my last choice.

Kalnaur

Pretty: A woman with a lovliness to her pyhsical appearance (used for almost all women who are not my SO but are visually apealing).

Hot: A woman with a come-hither appearance and a body to attract attention for at least a brief moment (but not much else. I rarley use this descriptor).

Beautiful: A fine combination of the two above, along with a kind of inner being that is attractive. (this is the one I prefer for my love.)

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asudevil83

this is how i think of it.....

HOT - i associate with sex. you see a hot chick, you want to fuck her kinda thing

PRETTY - i associate that with friend. you have a good looking friend, so she is pretty.

BEAUTIFUL - i associate that with love. you love your girlfriend because she is beautiful.

braindamage351

Pretty: Nice face

Hot: Big tits/ass

Beautiful: Pretty, elegant

raeanna74

This is cool to see that across the board everyone seems to have a general impression that's the same. I realize words are supposed to mean the same thing from one local to another but there seems to be very little variance here.

I used to feel bad that I was never (or rarely) called "hot" to my face. It seems to be a word used to describe a 3rd party and not so often used to compliment someone to their face. Hubby comforted me with his definitions of the words too. As long as he things I'm hot and pretty, I'm happy.

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lurkette

You make me all warm and happy.

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cheeterbo

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY:

beauty: a quality that delights the senses or exhalts the mind; loveliness

pretty: pleasing or attractive

hot: possessing great heat

it is clear from the posts that we (human beings that write english) are having trouble with agreeing on a vernacular for the above terms. this is what a dictionary is for.

this is because who i would fuck, might not be who you, or anyone else might fuck.

many people find julia roberts attractive. i find her grotesque. many men feel that britney spears is hot and would fuck her. i would need to get paid at least four figures to fuck her.

that new victoria secret chick, ariana i think, is beautiful, pretty and hot and man would i fuck her.

my wife is overweight and getting old, but boy she is so fucking beautiful to me and i really want to fuck her.

hobo

I've always thought of it this way.

If she's hot, I want to have sex with her.
If she's pretty, I want to know her as well.
If she's beautiful, she's getting older but is pretty.

Ms.VanHelsing

You know the old sayings such as "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder' and "Beauty is skin deep".......... well......... these things are true. This whole sick North American pseudo-culture is so hung up on superficiality and infantile sexuality that they are heading for terrible disappointment and uunavoidable lonliness in their lives as they begin to realise that none of this will bring them true happiness. Looks are fleeting at best. And all the so called ' average looking people that have sssooooooo much to offer get routinely passed by. My advice is forget about looks...and go for the heart.

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