holy
Americanadjective
-
holier,
comparative
-
holiest
superlative
-
specially recognized as or declared sacred by religious use or authority; consecrated.
holy ground.
- Synonyms:
- blessed
-
dedicated or devoted to the service of God, the church, or religion.
a holy man.
-
saintly; godly; pious; devout.
a holy life.
-
having a spiritually pure quality.
a holy love.
- Synonyms:
- spiritual
-
entitled to worship or veneration as or as if sacred.
a holy relic.
-
holy rites.
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inspiring fear, awe, or grave distress.
The director, when angry, is a holy terror.
-
(used in certain interjections to express surprise, bewilderment, or wonder, as in holy cow andholy smoke. )
noun
-
holies
plural
adjective
-
of, relating to, or associated with God or a deity; sacred
-
endowed or invested with extreme purity or sublimity
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devout, godly, or virtuous
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offensively sanctimonious or self-righteous
a holier-than-thou attitude
-
-
a difficult or frightening person
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informal a person who is an active gambler, womanizer, etc
-
noun
Synonym Usage
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 Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of holy
First recorded before 900; Middle English holi, Old English hālig, variant of hāleg, equivalent to hāl whole + -eg -y 1; cognate with Dutch, German heilig, Old Norse heilagr
Explanation
Something that is sacred can be described as holy, like the Holy Bible. So can anything associated with God, like a holy day that is observed by attending worship ceremonies. The adjective holy comes from the Old English word hālig and is related to the German word heilig, meaning “blessed.” There is a relationship between holy and whole, and the religious sense probably developed from keeping believers spiritually whole — and pure. A place, object, or person who has been blessed can be described as holy, meaning "associated with God."
Vocabulary lists containing holy
Abbey Road
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Eid al-Adha
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All Saints' Day
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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.
See Examples For:
Devi has used many years’ worth of meager birthday savings to send away for college-admissions materials, which she has cherished “like secret and holy things” and stowed carefully under her cot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Experts say the holy grail -- machines capable of independently reacting to the unpredictability of any real-life situation -- is a long way off for any company.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Concerned about the spooky Los Angeles estate — which served a convent for nuns for half a century — Gerber said her mother, supermodel Cindy Crawford, gave her holy water to take on set.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Australia had the opener for the past two seasons because of where the Muslim holy month of Ramadan fell.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
We dipped our fingers in holy water, knelt, crossed ourselves like we’d done a thousand times, and I led Helena to a pew.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
No one would call him a minimalist, but his holy of holies is not to allow his productions to eclipse his performers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025
But the holiest of holies were the works of Judy Blume, who taught us that people with seemingly enviable lives had problems of their own.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 25, 2023
Jerusalem was also the site of the holiest of holies of Judaism, the most sacred of spaces where the Temple of Solomon had stood until its destruction by the Romans.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
The holy of holies makes a return to Broadway, this time in the person of Sean Hayes.
From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2016
Though this proviso may sound far-fetched, Wagner’s admirers had indeed begun to see Bayreuth as a very special place, the holiest of holies, well before he embarked on Parsifal.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
“Rich people can get a private beach and others can’t…I don’t pretend to be holier than anybody, I just do have these feelings.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
“When I do it, I'm trying not to be holier than thou in every way that I can. And I fail at that a fair amount.”
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2024
“These are women who have traversed many things and are not holier than thou and are very, very loud,” she said.
From New York Times ● Apr. 24, 2023
It’s easy for strangers to be holier than thou if they haven’t tried to solve the problem themselves.
From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2023
“If God gets even half the promises we’ve been laying down, the U.S.A. is going to be holier than the Vatican,” Monaco said.
From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recognition by Saudi Arabia, a regional power and home to Islam's holiest sites, would mark a "historic leap" forward for peace in the Middle East.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
"The war in Iran has affected the entire world. Nobody wants wars or harm to countries and peoples," he told AFP news agency as he left Mecca's Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
Control of Islam’s holiest sites generates prestige and revenue, but it also carries an obligation to keep them safe and accessible for all Muslims.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
The Muslim community is currently preparing for one of its holiest seasons and its biggest feasts.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
Everyone knows Limerick is the holiest city in Ireland because it has the Arch Confraternity of the Holy Family, the biggest sodality in the world.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
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.
