cute

Adorable; very cute. Your puppy is just as cute as a bug's ear! Look at his big eyes! Why, your daughter looks as cute as a bug's ear! All these kittens are cute as a bug's ears—how am I supposed to choose just one to adopt?

Pleasing in appearance or temperament. Most often said of children. Your little girl is as cute as a button in that frilly dress. Katie has such a sweet and charming disposition—she's as cute as a button. Did you see those kids singing Christmas carols? They are cute as a button, every last one of them.

Very attractive in a youthful or dainty way; adorable. The girls Alex dates are always cute as a speckled pup, but don't have much going on between their ears. Why, your daughter looks as cute as a speckled pup in that dress! Why don't you like Marie? She's just cute as a speckled pup, if you ask me.

slang Extremely; very. Oh, their family is all kinds of dysfunctional! That movie was all kinds of awesome! I can't wait to see it again. No, I don't want to buy this spooky old house—it's all kinds of rundown!

To be very visually attractive in a youthful or dainty way; to be adorable. The girls Alex dates are always cute as a speckled pup, but don't have much going on between their ears. Have you seen Susan's daughter? Why, she's just cute as a speckled pup.

slang To have or exhibit an extreme degree of some quality or characteristic. Don't be surprised if a shouting match starts in the middle of dinner. Their family is all kinds of dysfunctional! That movie was all kinds of awesome! I can't wait to see it again.

To be pleasing in appearance or temperament. Most often said of children. Your little girl is as cute as a button in that frilly dress. Katie is pretty and has such a sweet disposition—she's as cute as a button.

Someone who is wily and shrewd. Primarily heard in Ireland. Phil is a real cute hoor—he always manages to outfox everyone else, even when you least expect it.

Adorable; extremely cute. My little niece was cuter than a June bug in her costume.

very cute. (*Also: as ~.) That little baby is cute as a bug's ear.

Also, cute as a bug's ear. Pretty or attractive in a dainty way, as in That baby is cute as a button. Cute originally was a shortening of acute, for "sharp-witted and clever," but in the early 1800s it also took on its current meaning. Other than that buttons and bug's hearing organs can be small, there is no good explanation for these similes.

Daintily attractive. The word “cute” dates from the seventeenth century. It was originally an abbreviation of acute and had the same meaning: clever, shrewd, ingenious. In America, however, it came to be applied to attractive persons or things, those with an appearance of dainty charm rather than outright beauty. A button is small and round; so are some cute objects. For some reason this simile took hold in the early twentieth century. The synonym cute as a bug’s ear similarly alludes to something very small—and in fact nonexistent (bugs don’t have ears).