homely
[ hohm-lee ]
/ ˈhoʊm li /
adjective, home·li·er, home·li·est.
lacking in physical attractiveness; not beautiful; unattractive: a homely child.
not having elegance, refinement, or cultivation.
proper or suited to the home or to ordinary domestic life; plain; unpretentious: homely food.
commonly seen or known.
QUIZZES
GEE WHILLIKERS! WAIT TILL YOU SEE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!
Do you remember all the words from last week, September 21–27, 2020? Then this quiz should be butyraceous.
Question 1 of 7
What does “yare” mean?
Origin of homely
synonym study for homely
1-3. Simple, homely ( homey ), homelike, plain imply absence of adornment or embellishment. Something that is simple is not elaborate or complex: a simple kind of dress. In the United States, homely usually suggests absence of natural beauty: an unattractive person almost homely enough to be called ugly. In England, the word suggests a wholesome simplicity without artificial refinement or elegance; since it characterizes that which is comfortable and attractive, it is equivalent to homey : a homely cottage. Homelike also emphasizes comfort and attractiveness, but it conveys less strongly than does homey a sense of intimate security: a homelike interior, arrangement, atmosphere. Something that is plain has little or no adornment: expensive but plain clothing.
OTHER WORDS FROM homely
Words nearby homely
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for homely
British Dictionary definitions for homely
homely
/ (ˈhəʊmlɪ) /
adjective -lier or -liest
characteristic of or suited to the ordinary home; unpretentious
(of a person)
- British warm and domesticated in manner or appearance
- mainly US and Canadian plain or ugly
Derived forms of homely
homeliness, nounCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012