Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Homely

Home′ly

,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Homelier
;
sup
erl.
Homeliest
.]
[From
Home
,
Noun.
]
1.
Belonging to, or having the characteristics of, home; domestic; familiar; intimate.
[Archaic]
With all these men I was right
homely
, and communed with, them long and oft.
Foxe.
Their
homely
joys, and destiny obscure.
Gray.
2.
Plain; unpretending; rude in appearance; unpolished;
as, a
homely
garment; a
homely
house;
homely
fare;
homely
manners.
Now Strephon daily entertains
His Chloe in the
homeliest
strains.
Pope.
3.
Of plain or coarse features; uncomely; ugly; – usually used of people, especially women; – contrary to
handsome
.
None so
homely
but loves a looking-glass.
South.

Home′ly

,
adv.
Plainly; rudely; coarsely;
as,
homely
dressed
.
[R.]
Spenser.

Webster 1828 Edition


Homely

HO'MELY

,
Adj.
[from home.] Of plain features; not handsome; as a homely face. It expresses less than ugly.
Let time, which makes you homely, make you wise.
1.
Plain, like that which is made for common domestic use; rude; coarse; not fine or elegant; as a homely garment; a homely house; homely are.
Now Strephon daily entertains
His Chloe in the homeliest strains.

HO'MELY

,
adv.
Plainly; rudely; coarsely; as homely dressed. [Little used.]

Definition 2024


homely

homely

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

homely (comparative homelier or more homely, superlative homeliest or most homely)

  1. (dated) Lacking in beauty or elegance, plain in appearance, physically unattractive.
    • Robert South
      There is none so homely but loves a looking-glass.
    • 1958, Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita, Chapter 15
      You see, she sees herself as a starlet; I see her as a sturdy, healthy but decidedly homely kid.
  2. (archaic) Characteristic of or belonging to home; domestic. [from early 14th c.]
    • 5 January 2014 "Mowgli's Cub" (Jungle Book episode)
      Mowgli: "Oh, don't worry Chota, it may not be homely, but I can warm it up."
  3. (Britain dialectal) On intimate or friendly terms with (someone); familiar; at home (with a person); intimate.
  4. (Britain dialectal, of animals) Domestic; tame.
  5. (Britain dialectal) Personal; private.
  6. (Britain dialectal) Friendly; kind; gracious; cordial.
  7. (archaic) Simple; plain; familiar; unelaborate; unadorned. [from late 14th c.]
    a homely garment; homely fare; homely manners
    • 1731, Alexander Pope, Strephon and Chloe, Lines 211-212
      Now Strephon daily entertains / His Chloe in the homeliest strains.
    • 2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press (ISBN 0-521-78512-X), page 167,
      There is no simple way to define precisely a complex arrangement of parts, however homely the object may appear to be.

Antonyms

Translations