sightly

S1I1G2H4T1L1Y4
/ˈsaɪtli/

adjective

Attractive, pleasing to the eye; affording gratification to the sense of sight; aesthetically pleasing.

Opposite
RareScrabble 14

Meanings

adjectivesightly (comparative sightlier, superlative sightliest)

comparative sightlier · superlative sightliest

  1. archaicAttractive, pleasing to the eye; affording gratification to the sense of sight; aesthetically pleasing.

    Many brave, sightly horses.

    1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC
    2 more examples

    Harry's sightly—yes, he's as sightly as the tallest pine of the mountains, and the Sarpent has named him accordingly; however, some fancy good looks, and some fancy good conduct, only.

    1841, James Fenimore Cooper, The Deerslayer

    'Your face -ain't sightly,' said Ole Pa.

    1988, Elizabeth Kata, A Patch of Blue
  2. archaicOffering a good view.

    30 acres land, situated high and sightly, commanding an unobstructed view of the surrounding country, […]

    1907, Liberty Hyde Bailey, Henry Hodgman Saylor, Country Life in America - Volume 13, page 361
    4 more examples

    […] yet the defendant wrongfully and unjustly intending to injure the plaintiff, and deprive him of his right to a free, safe, and unobstructed passage into and upon the said streets to and from his said lot, and to deprive him and his lot of the benefit and advantage of the sightly and elevated position of the lot and improvements […]

    1887, L.J. Critchfield, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Ohio: Volume 9

    Q. Would you consider land having an unobstructed view of one mile as having a sightly view, that is what you mean by sightly? A. Yes, it might be sightly.

    1912, Supreme Court Appellate Division 2nd Dept Vol. 1547, page 697

    You will not have to wait for your ship to come in to buy one of these high and sightly lots commanding an unobstructed view of miles of the most beautiful coast line in California.

    1923, Los Angeles School Journal - Volume 7, Issues 1-20, page 5

    This is one of the most sightly locations in Boston for an imposing religious group having an unobstructed view from practically all directions.

    1999, David Kaufman, Shul with a Pool, page 270
  3. archaicOpen to sight; conspicuous.

    There is also a soldiers' monument on a sightly situation on Grand Avenue.

    1922, Frank Moore Colby, Talcott Williams, The New International Encyclopaedia - Volume 15, page 702
    2 more examples

    In 1916 the people voted to have a High school and to build a new building which is now, 1917, completed and is a beautiful modern one-story brick building, known as Lincoln High school, located in the northeastern part of the village on a sightly spot known as Lincoln Hill.

    1917, Eben Doublas Pierce, History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin

    He lived in the William Church, Jr., house which still occupies a sightly spot on West Hill.

    1924, Edward Church Smith, Philiip Mack Smith, Theodore Clarke Smith, A History of the Town of Middlefield, Massachusetts

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite

adjectivevery pleasing to the eye

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishsightlye
  2. Englishsightly

From Middle English sightlye, equivalent to sight + -ly. Cognate with German sichtlich (“visible”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian красив, привлекателен
  • красив (krasiv)pleasing of appearance
  • привлекателен (privlekatelen)pleasing of appearance
  • явен (javen)open to sight; conspicuous
  • виден (viden)open to sight; conspicuous
Czech pohledný, pěkný
  • pohlednýpleasing of appearance
  • pěknýpleasing of appearance
  • pěkný na pohledpleasing of appearance
  • úhlednýpleasing of appearance
Irish amharcach, dathúil
  • amharcachpleasing of appearance
  • dathúilpleasing of appearance
Italian leggiadro, panoramico
  • leggiadropleasing of appearance
  • panoramicoopen to sight; conspicuous
Romanian estetic, plăcut la vedere
  • esteticpleasing of appearance
  • plăcut la vederepleasing of appearance
Russian привлека́тельный, прия́тный
  • привлека́тельный (privlekátelʹnyj)pleasing of appearance
  • прия́тный (prijátnyj)pleasing of appearance
  • ви́дный (vídnyj)open to sight; conspicuous
  • заме́тный (zamétnyj)open to sight; conspicuous
  • броса́ющийся в глаза́ (brosájuščijsja v glazá)open to sight; conspicuous

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

sightly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sightly

MLA

“sightly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sightly. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sightly,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sightly.

Source: sightly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.