heavenly
Americanadjective
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of or in the heavens.
the heavenly bodies.
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of, belonging to, or coming from the heaven of God, the angels, etc.
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resembling or befitting heaven; blissful; beautiful.
His home in Tahiti was a heavenly spot.
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divine or celestial.
heavenly peace.
adjective
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informal alluring, wonderful, or sublime
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of or occurring in space
a heavenly body
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divine; holy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of heavenly
before 1000; Middle English hevenly, Old English heofonlīc. See heaven, -ly
Explanation
If something is heavenly, it either has something to do with God — it's sacred or divine — or it's so wonderful that it seems like it is, like the heavenly double-fudge brownies that your dad makes. If you hear a priest in a church refer to "the heavenly Father," that basically translates to "God in heaven." When you observe heavenly objects through your telescope, you're looking at things that are in the sky, rather than something sacred or religious. And the most common, everyday way to use this adjective is to mean so beautiful or amazing that it seems like it came from heaven: "This weather is heavenly."
Vocabulary lists containing heavenly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Tiangong, or "Heavenly Palace", space station welcomed its first occupants in 2021.
From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026
The night highlighted ground-level activism from organizers like Heavenly Hughes of My Tribe Rise, who led the crowd in a raucous chant of “Altadena’s not for sale.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2026
Putin, sitting to his right atop the Gate of Heavenly Peace, took note.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025
“The ice had probably just frozen over when one of our employees, Danny, spotted Charlie skating and got that photo,” Dreu Murin, a spokesperson for the Shops at Heavenly Village, said.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2025
For there were twenty-four of them, each one given his night to preach—to shine, as it were, before men, and to glorify his Heavenly Father.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
