homily
Americannoun
plural
homilies-
a sermon, usually on a Biblical topic and usually of a nondoctrinal nature.
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an admonitory or moralizing discourse.
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an inspirational saying or cliché.
noun
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a sermon or discourse on a moral or religious topic
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moralizing talk or writing
Other Word Forms
- homilist noun
Etymology
Origin of homily
1545–55; < Late Latin homīlia < Greek homīlía assembly, sermon, equivalent to hómīl ( os ) crowd ( hom ( oû ) together + -īlos, masculine combining form of ī́lē (feminine) crowd) + -ia -y 3; replacing Middle English omelie < Middle French < Latin, as above
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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.
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday condemned the "rubble and open wounds" left behind by wars, singling out the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza as he conducted his first Christmas homily.
From Barron's • Dec. 25, 2025
Mr. Leiter, who earned orthodox rabbinical ordination, breaks into a homily connecting his son Moshe to the biblical original, Moses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
In his homily, the pope praised “the fire of charity” that sustains both giver and receiver.
From Salon • Aug. 17, 2025
He led the lunchtime one in the cathedral, telling parishioners during his homily, “We want to go out and console our neighbors and strengthen their hearts and encourage them to keep the faith.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2025
Bessie supplied the hiatus by a homily of an hour’s length, in which she proved beyond a doubt that I was the most wicked and abandoned child ever reared under a roof.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
