Meanings
comparative shapelier · comparative more shapely · superlative shapeliest · superlative most shapely
- Having a pleasing shape, pleasant to look at.
The more solicitous of the two was Nurse Cramer, a shapely, pretty, sexless girl with a wholesome unattractive face.
1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 1711 more example
It used to be, whenever Frank passed a rival butcher’s window (and later the curved glass of a supermarket meat counter), he would peer in unjealously, looking for the subtleties that spoke of talent with a knife. Were their fillets shapely?
2020 September 1, Tom Lamont, “The butcher's shop that lasted 300 years (give or take)”, in The GuardianSynonyms: well set
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveHaving a pleasing shape, pleasant to look at.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivehaving a well-proportioned and pleasing shape
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old English*ġesċeaplīċ“according to design, proper, fit”
- Middle Englishschaply
- Englishshapely
From Middle English schaply, schappely (“well-shaped, beautiful, attractive”), perhaps from Old English *ġesċeaplīċ (“according to design, proper, fit”) (suggested by Old English ġesċeaplīċe (“properly, fitting, well”)), equivalent to shape + -ly.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic حَسَن
- حَسَن (ḥasan)having a pleasing shape
Bulgarian строен, добре сложен
- строен (stroen)having a pleasing shape
- добре сложен (dobre složen)having a pleasing shape
Chinese Mandarin 凹凸有致, 豐滿 /丰满
- 凹凸有致 (āotūyǒuzhì)having a pleasing shape
- 豐滿 /丰满 (fēngmǎn)having a pleasing shape
Czech úhledný, ladných tvarů
- úhlednýhaving a pleasing shape
- ladných tvarůhaving a pleasing shape
Finnish hyvinmuodostunut, sopusuhtainen
- hyvinmuodostunuthaving a pleasing shape
- sopusuhtainenhaving a pleasing shape
Hindi सुडौल
- सुडौल (suḍaul)having a pleasing shape
Hungarian jóalakú, jóformájú
- jóalakúhaving a pleasing shape
- jóformájúhaving a pleasing shape
Irish córach, cruthach
- córachhaving a pleasing shape
- cruthachhaving a pleasing shape
- cruthúilhaving a pleasing shape
- cumaíhaving a pleasing shape
- cumthahaving a pleasing shape
- dea-chruthachhaving a pleasing shape
- dea-chumthahaving a pleasing shape
- dealfahaving a pleasing shape
- fíorthahaving a pleasing shape
- greantahaving a pleasing shape
Italian formoso, tornito
- formosohaving a pleasing shape
- tornitohaving a pleasing shape
- prosperosohaving a pleasing shape
- polputohaving a pleasing shape
Polish zgrabny, kształtny
- zgrabnyhaving a pleasing shape
- kształtnyhaving a pleasing shape
Portuguese torneado
- torneadohaving a pleasing shape
Scottish Gaelic cumachdail
- cumachdailhaving a pleasing shape
Spanish torneado, curvilíneo
- torneadohaving a pleasing shape
- curvilíneohaving a pleasing shape
- exuberantehaving a pleasing shape
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
shapely. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shapely
“shapely.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shapely. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shapely,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shapely.
Source: shapely on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.