Good-looking means physically attractive. It works for both men and women: a good-looking man, a good-looking woman. Handsome is usually used about men, and pretty about girls and women.
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good-looking + man/woman/couple; be good-looking; better-looking; best-looking
- The lead actor is very good-looking, but the film itself is quite boring.
- In old photos, my grandfather was a really good-looking young man.
What changed
First versionEveryone says Max is more good-looking than his brother.
RevisionEveryone says Max is better-looking than his brother.
The first part of good-looking changes the same way as good: better-looking, best-looking. With a long adjective, more can seem like the obvious choice, but here the usual form is better-looking. The correction replaces more good-looking with better-looking.
Good-looking describes a lasting feature: the person is attractive in general. Look good means to look nice now, today or in particular clothes: You look good in that jacket. You look good-looking sounds clumsy; for a compliment, say You look great.
Your turn
Her husband is ___, but that's not the reason she married him.
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good-looking — The sentence is about her reason for marrying him, so it needs a lasting quality: her husband is attractive. Is looking good means he looks well at the moment, for example after a holiday, and that cannot be a reason for a marriage.
Describe someone you find good-looking: a friend, a relative, an actor. Name the person and the quality of character you like about them more than their looks.
My cousin Dan is good-looking, but what I like most about him is his sense of humour.
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