Informally, a person considered especially attractive or charming.
Reach for it when giving playful, affectionate praise to someone's romantic appeal
With his warm laugh and careful manners, the new cellist was everyone's dreamboat.
| playful |
|
|---|---|
| everyday | |
| warm |
playful
Fits when many people share an admiring romantic fascination
Careful Heartthrob implies celebrity or widespread desire and is too public for private affection.
playful
Fits when striking physical appearance is the whole compliment
Careful Knockout objectifies the person and says nothing about warmth or charm.
playful
looker
Fits when casual speech focuses on someone being good-looking
Careful Looker is appearance-only and can sound dated or disrespectful.
everyday
Fits when exceptional appearance is being admired directly
Careful Calling someone a beauty centers looks and loses dreamboat's affectionate humor.
everyday
catch
Fits when someone is viewed as a highly desirable romantic partner overall
Careful Catch can sound transactional and judges suitability, not immediate charm.
warm
Fits when engaging behavior and social ease create the attraction
Careful Charmer can imply calculated persuasion and does not necessarily praise appearance.
absolute dreamboat
Her friends agreed that the considerate new neighbor was an absolute dreamboat.
total dreamboat
The film presents its shy astronomer as a total dreamboat.
considered a dreamboat
He was considered a dreamboat, though he cared more about his comic timing.
Keep in mind
The word is appearance-led and can objectify a person. It suits playful contexts better than dignified praise.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Commander Keane, Australian accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated
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