Can someone explain the phrase "achingly beautiful"? I often find myself reaching for it, while being unsure how to break down the meaning of it.
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1It would normally be interpreted to mean that the beauty is so extreme that it almost seems to cause pain -- it makes your heart ache. The sort of thing that might be said of an extremely attractive person of the opposite sex.– Hot LicksCommented Jan 15, 2019 at 1:54
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I like this answer better than the one currently below! Want to add it as answer? If not I will– tog22Commented Jan 16, 2019 at 0:21
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1Your comparison to an extremely attractive person of the opposite sex also makes me realize there's an element of longing and even sadness in aching beauty. Perhaps it's tied up with the recognition that we're mortal (and often caught up in the mundane) so don't get to experience the aching beauty of life and the world as much as we'd like.– tog22Commented Jan 16, 2019 at 0:23
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By "reaching for it", I take it that you are using the term. In that case, you're in a much better position than we are to explain what you mean by the term.– LawrenceCommented Jan 18, 2019 at 16:31
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@Lawrence, that's not always the case - often one can't articulate or spell out what one means. Sometimes it's helpful to look up a word one knows how to use in a dictionary, to see an articulation of what one means! In philosophy, this is the distinction between 'knowledge how' and 'knowledge that'.– tog22Commented Jan 19, 2019 at 0:06
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1 Answer
achingly Collins Dictionary
adverb [ADV adj/adv]
You can use achingly for emphasis when you are referring to things that create feelings of wanting something very much, but of not being able to have it. [written, emphasis] As in ... three achingly beautiful ballads.
beautiful - no definition needed
This is one of the most achingly beautiful cars in the world. The Sun (2007),
but you cannot have one!
