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Literary notes about Tasteful (AI summary)

In literature, the term "tasteful" conveys a sense of refined simplicity and elegance, often highlighting choices that are aesthetically and culturally discriminating. Writers use it to describe not only physical attributes—such as a poet’s refined aura [1], a graceful dress [2, 3], or artfully arranged interiors [4, 5]—but also intangible qualities like a discerning palate for art and food [6, 7]. It suggests that something, whether a line in a tale or the design of a building, is marked by an understated elegance and an appreciation for quality that transcends mere decoration [8]. This multifaceted use, ranging from sartorial preferences to architectural remarks, underscores its role in evoking an atmosphere of cultured restraint and subtle beauty.
  1. Another was Antony Valabrègue, afterwards a tasteful poet, whose family, curiously enough, became connected with that of Captain Dreyfus.
    — from Émile Zola, Novelist and Reformer: An Account of His Life & Work by Ernest Alfred Vizetelly
  2. She wears a dark visiting dress, tasteful, but not quite in the latest fashion.
    — from Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen
  3. The ordinary evening house dress should be tasteful and becoming, with a certain amount of ornament, and worn with jewelry.
    — from Our DeportmentOr the Manners, Conduct and Dress of the Most Refined Society by John H. Young
  4. On the floor was a fresh matting, covered with a rug or two; and on the walls hung a few tasteful pictures.
    — from The Awakening, and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin
  5. A community building, tasteful in architecture and equipped for community use, is a great desideratum, but is not often available.
    — from Society: Its Origin and Development by Henry K. (Henry Kalloch) Rowe
  6. [Pg 259] "It is impossible to be a more ardent and tasteful admirer of the fine arts than is the duchess.
    — from Hortense Makers of History Series by John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot) Abbott
  7. At last, faint with the desire for tasteful food, I went into another place and demanded a private room.
    — from The Invisible Man: A Grotesque Romance by H. G. Wells
  8. Art, which allows us to enter such strange worlds, makes them tasteful to us.
    — from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book III and IV by Nietzsche

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