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well-turned

well-turned

1 7.7
Having a graceful, attractive shape often used for body parts or sculptures
  • adjective
  • /ˌwɛlˈtɜrnd/
: bien formado
  • His well-turned smile made everyone feel welcomed at the party.

Examples

  • She parlayed her absurd love of ledgers into a career minding the money, but maintains a soft spot for a well-turned phrase or an obscure piece of history.

    Blog text (17)
  • I mean, they were incredibly well-turned-out, but not naturally good-looking, like some people.

  • " The little man, smart and well turned out in his black colonial policeman's uniform, trod so softly beside Rick Blaine that even in the stillness his footfalls were inaudible.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • She wore a stunning dress that showcased her well-turned figure and elegant posture.

  • The artist captured the beauty of the model's well-turned profile in his painting.

Synonyms

good-looking
vswell-turned
307 1.2

Having a nice face or body that people find attractive

focuses more on graceful form and pleasing expressions rather than general looks
shapely
vswell-turned
14 3.4

An attractive body or body part that looks balanced

also applies to graceful form beyond body parts, including expressions

Antonyms

41 4.6

Having a shape that is not normal and often looking ugly

13 4.7

Not the normal shape and often looking ugly

1 4.9

Showing awkward, not smooth movement or shape

How Graceful

elegant
163 3.3
well-turned
1 7.7
shapely
14 3.4
plain
33 2.5
ungainly
7 7.3

Surface Forms

well-turned positive

Morphology

well-turned = turn (transparent) = well + turn + ed

Formed from 'well' + past participle 'turned' meaning 'nicely shaped', a straightforward descriptive formation. [Postprocessing: moved 'well' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Well-turned comes from well ('good') and turned ('shaped'), like something shaped on a potter's wheel, so a well-turned ankle or line is one that is smoothly and gracefully formed.