holy

[ hoh-lee ]
See synonyms for holy on Thesaurus.com
adjective,ho·li·er, ho·li·est.
  1. specially recognized as or declared sacred by religious use or authority; consecrated: holy ground.

  2. dedicated or devoted to the service of God, the church, or religion: a holy man.

  1. saintly; godly; pious; devout: a holy life.

  2. having a spiritually pure quality: a holy love.

  3. entitled to worship or veneration as or as if sacred: a holy relic.

  4. religious (def. 1): holy rites.

  5. inspiring fear, awe, or grave distress: The director, when angry, is a holy terror.

  6. (used in certain interjections to express surprise, bewilderment, or wonder, as in holy cow and holy smoke.)

noun,plural ho·lies.
  1. a place of worship; sacred place; sanctuary.

Origin of holy

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English holi, Old English hālig, variant of hāleg, equivalent to hāl whole + -eg -y1; cognate with Dutch, German heilig, Old Norse heilagr

synonym study For holy

1. Holy, sacred, consecrated, hallowed imply possession of a sanctity that is the object of religious veneration. Holy refers to the divine, that which has its sanctity directly from God or is connected with Him: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Something that is sacred, while sometimes accepted as entitled to religious veneration, may have its sanctity from human authority: a sacred oath. Something that is consecrated is specially or formally dedicated to some religious use: a life consecrated to service. Something that is hallowed has been made holy by being worshiped: a hallowed shrine.

Other words for holy

Opposites for holy

Words that may be confused with holy

Words Nearby holy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use holy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for holy

holy

/ (ˈhəʊlɪ) /


adjectiveholier or holiest
  1. of, relating to, or associated with God or a deity; sacred

  2. endowed or invested with extreme purity or sublimity

  1. devout, godly, or virtuous

  2. holier-than-thou offensively sanctimonious or self-righteous: a holier-than-thou attitude

  3. holy terror

    • a difficult or frightening person

    • Irish informal a person who is an active gambler, womanizer, etc

nounplural -lies
    • a sacred place

    • the holy (functioning as plural) persons or things invested with holiness

Origin of holy

1
Old English hālig, hǣlig; related to Old Saxon hēlag, Gothic hailags, German heilig; see hallow

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012