bellissima

Bellissima is an Italian adjective meaning extremely beautiful and serves as the feminine singular form of bellissimo. In Italian, adjectives agree with the nouns they modify, so bellissima describes a feminine singular noun, as in una ragazza bellissima or una vista bellissima. The masculine singular form is bellissimo, and the plural forms are bellissimi (masc) and bellissime (fem).

The word is built from bello with the suffix -issimo, a productive intensifier that signals a high degree of the quality. This suffix is common in Italian and has its roots in the Latin superlative suffix -issimus.

In usage, bellissima conveys strong admiration for beauty or appeal. It can be used attributively before a noun (una casa bellissima) or predicatively with essere (La casa è bellissima). It also appears as an exclamation: Bellissima! or Che bellissima giornata!

Notes on nuance and grammar: bellissima expresses a high degree of beauty and is part of a broader set of adjectives formed with -issimo, such as grandissimo or velocissimo. Like other Italian adjectives, bellissima agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies. The masculine counterpart is bellissimo, and the plural forms are bellissimi and bellissime.