Bonny means attractive, healthy-looking, and full of life. The word comes from Scotland and Northern England, where people might describe a rosy-cheeked baby as a bonny wee bairn (a beautiful little child) or admire someone's bonny smile.

Unlike words that focus only on physical beauty, bonny suggests something more: a cheerful, vigorous quality that makes someone pleasant to be around. A bonny person radiates good health and good spirits. You might hear someone describe a friend as having bonny eyes that sparkle with happiness, or talk about a bonny morning when the sun shines bright and everything feels fresh and alive.

The word appears often in Scottish songs and poetry, like in “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean,” where bonnie (an alternate spelling) expresses affection for someone far away. While Americans don't use bonny much in everyday speech, you'll encounter it in stories set in Scotland or England, where it captures a particular kind of wholesome, glowing attractiveness that goes beyond just looking good.