Definition
Quaint describes something pleasantly old-fashioned — a cobbled lane, a hand-painted sign, a custom charmingly out of step with the modern world. It comes from the Old French cointe, 'clever' or 'elegant,' and softened over centuries into charm that arises precisely from being dated. There is a faint edge to it, though: call an idea quaint and you may be admiring it or quietly dismissing it as a once-serious notion now too simple to take seriously. The same word that praises a village can patronise an argument.
Examples
- We stayed in a quaint little inn with crooked floors and a fireplace older than the town itself.
- His quaint habit of writing letters by hand seemed almost obsolete in an office full of screens.
- What once passed for cutting-edge science can come to look quaint as new evidence emerges.
Collocations
a quaint little village·quaint custom·quaint charm·seem quaint·a quaint notion
Synonyms
charming·old-fashioned·picturesque·twee·antiquated
Antonyms
modern·fashionable·contemporary
Word family
quaintly (adverb)·quaintness (noun)
In TOEFL & IELTS
A descriptive gem for IELTS Speaking Part 2 ('describe a place you visited') and narrative writing — far richer than 'old.' But handle its double edge: praising a village as quaint is warm, while calling a belief quaint politely brands it outdated. TOEFL reading passages sometimes use it ironically about superseded theories, so judge it by context rather than assuming it is always a compliment.