Ask Difference

Beautiful vs. Divine — What's the Difference?

By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on October 30, 2023
Beautiful refers to aesthetic appeal and attractiveness; divine denotes godly perfection or supreme excellence.
Beautiful vs. Divine — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Beautiful and Divine

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Key Differences

Beautiful typically describes something pleasing to the senses, especially sight. It's often used for things that evoke admiration or awe due to their appearance. Divine, on the other hand, implies a level of perfection or excellence that transcends earthly standards, often associated with deity or godliness.
The term beautiful can apply to a wide range of subjects, from nature to art, and it often involves personal taste and cultural standards. Divine, in its traditional sense, is related to the sacred, celestial, or supernatural, suggesting an extraordinary or incomprehensible quality.
While beauty is largely subjective and can change with societal trends, divine carries a sense of timelessness and universal reverence. Divine often implies a spiritual or moral excellence beyond human capabilities.
The appreciation of beauty is a human experience, often resulting in emotional responses like joy or pleasure. The concept of the divine, however, is rooted in religious or spiritual contexts and can evoke feelings of reverence or awe.
In contemporary usage, beautiful is commonly used in everyday language, while divine is often reserved for more elevated or spiritual discussions, though it's sometimes used hyperbolically to describe something exceptionally wonderful.
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Comparison Chart

Meaning

Pleasing to the senses; attractive
Godly perfection; supreme excellence

Context of Use

Wide-ranging, subjective
Sacred, celestial; often in religious context

Subjectivity

Highly subjective; varies with trends
Connotes timelessness, universal reverence

Emotional Response

Joy, pleasure, admiration
Reverence, awe, spiritual connection

Common Usage

Everyday language, diverse subjects
Elevated, spiritual discussions; sometimes hyperbolic

Compare with Definitions

Beautiful

Pleasing to the senses, especially sight.
The sunset was breathtakingly beautiful.

Divine

Pertaining to a god, especially the Supreme Being.
They sought divine guidance in their decision.

Beautiful

Aesthetically pleasing.
The painting was a beautiful composition of colors.

Divine

Characterized by godlike perfection.
The divine beauty of the universe is awe-inspiring.

Beautiful

Delighting the senses or mind.
The story had a beautiful ending.

Divine

Heavenly, celestial.
She believed in a divine afterlife.

Beautiful

Possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction.
Her beautiful voice captivated the audience.

Divine

Extremely good or unusually lovely.
The dessert tasted absolutely divine.

Beautiful

Excelling in grace, form, or charm.
The garden was filled with beautiful flowers.

Divine

Pertaining to theology or religious studies.
He spent his life studying divine law.

Beautiful

Having qualities that delight or appeal to the senses and often the mind.

Divine

Having the nature of or being a deity.

Beautiful

Excellent; wonderful
Hit a beautiful shot from the tee.

Divine

Of, relating to, emanating from, or being the expression of a deity
Sought divine guidance through meditation.

Beautiful

Used to express approval or delight.

Divine

Being in the service or worship of a deity; sacred.

Beautiful

Attractive and possessing beauty.
Anyone who has ever met her thought she was absolutely beautiful.
There's a beautiful lake by the town.

Divine

Superhuman; godlike.

Beautiful

Good, admirable.
He was a beautiful person; he would drop everything to help you.
You've done a beautiful thing today.

Divine

Supremely good or beautiful; magnificent
A divine performance of the concerto.

Beautiful

(of the weather) Pleasant; clear.
It's beautiful outside, let's go for a walk.

Divine

Extremely pleasant; delightful
Had a divine time at the ball.

Beautiful

Well executed.
The skater performed a beautiful axel.

Divine

A cleric.

Beautiful

Someone who is beautiful. Can be used as a term of address.
The man was faithful to his wife, ignoring the many blonde beautifuls who surrounded him wherever he went.
Hey, beautiful!

Divine

A theologian.

Beautiful

Having the qualities which constitute beauty; pleasing to the sight or the mind.
A circle is more beautiful than a square; a square is more beautiful than a parallelogram.

Divine

To foretell, especially by divination.

Beautiful

Delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration;
A beautiful child
Beautiful country
A beautiful painting
A beautiful theory
A beautiful party

Divine

To guess or know by inspiration or intuition
Somehow divined the answer despite not having read the assignment.

Beautiful

Aesthetically pleasing

Divine

To locate (underground water or minerals) with a divining rod; douse.

Beautiful

(of weather) highly enjoyable;
What a beautiful day

Divine

To practice divination.

Divine

To guess.

Divine

Of or pertaining to a god.

Divine

Eternal, holy, or otherwise godlike.

Divine

Of superhuman or surpassing excellence.

Divine

Beautiful, heavenly.

Divine

(obsolete) Foreboding; prescient.

Divine

Immortal; elect or saved after death

Divine

Relating to divinity or theology.

Divine

One skilled in divinity; a theologian.

Divine

A minister of the gospel; a priest; a clergyman.

Divine

(often capitalized, with 'the') God or a god, particularly in its aspect as a transcendental concept.

Divine

(transitive) To foretell (something), especially by the use of divination.

Divine

(transitive) To guess or discover (something) through intuition or insight.

Divine

(transitive) To search for (underground objects or water) using a divining rod.

Divine

To render divine; to deify.

Divine

Of or belonging to God; as, divine perfections; the divine will.

Divine

Proceeding from God; as, divine judgments.

Divine

Appropriated to God, or celebrating his praise; religious; pious; holy; as, divine service; divine songs; divine worship.

Divine

Pertaining to, or proceeding from, a deity; partaking of the nature of a god or the gods.

Divine

Godlike; heavenly; excellent in the highest degree; supremely admirable; apparently above what is human. In this application, the word admits of comparison; as, the divinest mind.
A divine sentence is in the lips of the king.
But not to one in this benighted ageIs that diviner inspiration given.

Divine

Presageful; foreboding; prescient.
Yet oft his heart, divine of something ill,Misgave him.

Divine

Relating to divinity or theology.
Church history and other divine learning.

Divine

One skilled in divinity; a theologian.

Divine

A minister of the gospel; a priest; a clergyman.
The first divines of New England were surpassed by none in extensive erudition.

Divine

To foresee or foreknow; to detect; to anticipate; to conjecture.
A sagacity which divined the evil designs.

Divine

To foretell; to predict; to presage.
Darest thou . . . divine his downfall?

Divine

To render divine; to deify.
Living on earth like angel new divined.

Divine

To use or practice divination; to foretell by divination; to utter prognostications.
The prophets thereof divine for money.

Divine

To have or feel a presage or foreboding.
Suggest but truth to my divining thoughts.

Divine

To conjecture or guess; as, to divine rightly.

Divine

Terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God

Divine

A clergyman or other person in religious orders

Divine

Perceive intuitively or through some inexplicable perceptive powers

Divine

Search by divining, as if with a rod;
He claimed he could divine underground water

Divine

Emanating from God;
Divine judgment
Divine guidance
Everything is black1 or white...satanic or godlyt

Divine

Resulting from divine providence;
Providential care
A providential visitation

Divine

Being or having the nature of a god;
The custom of killing the divine king upon any serious failure of his...powers
The divine will
The divine capacity for love
'Tis wise to learn; 'tis God-like to create

Divine

Devoted to or in the service or worship of a deity;
Divine worship
Divine liturgy

Divine

Appropriate to or befitting a god;
The divine strength of Achilles
A man of godlike sagacity
Man must play God for he has acquired certain godlike powers

Divine

Of such surpassing excellence as to suggest divine inspiration;
Her pies were simply divine
The divine Shakespeare
An elysian meal
An inspired performance

Common Curiosities

Is the term "divine" associated with godliness?

Yes, divine implies a level of perfection or excellence often associated with deity.

What does "beautiful" typically describe?

Beautiful describes something pleasing to the senses, especially sight.

Can beautiful apply to different subjects?

Yes, beautiful can apply to a wide range of subjects, including nature and art.

Is divine usually used in a religious context?

Traditionally, yes, divine is often used in religious or spiritual contexts.

Can beauty evoke emotional responses?

Yes, beauty often results in emotional responses like joy or pleasure.

Can beautiful be subjective?

Yes, beauty is largely subjective and can vary with personal taste.

Does divine suggest timelessness?

Yes, divine often conveys a sense of timelessness and universal reverence.

Is the term beautiful used in everyday language?

Yes, beautiful is commonly used in everyday language.

Is divine connected to moral excellence?

Yes, divine often implies spiritual or moral excellence beyond human capabilities.

Does divine evoke feelings of reverence?

Yes, the concept of the divine can evoke feelings of reverence or awe.

Does beautiful involve personal taste?

Yes, the appreciation of beauty often involves personal taste.

Can beautiful describe artistic works?

Yes, beautiful can describe artistic works like paintings or music.

Can divine describe something extremely good?

Yes, in contemporary usage, divine can describe something extremely good or lovely.

Is the concept of the divine rooted in spiritual contexts?

Yes, the concept of the divine is typically rooted in religious or spiritual contexts.

Can divine be used hyperbolically?

Yes, divine is sometimes used hyperbolically to describe something exceptionally wonderful.

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Author Spotlight

Written by
Tayyaba Rehman
Tayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.

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