homelike
Americanadjective
Usage
What does homelike mean? Homelike is used to describe places that feel like a home, especially one’s own home. In many cases, it means the same thing as homey, which is used to describe a place as cozy, comfortable, and inviting. A person might try to make their place (or a particular room in it) more homelike, typically by decorating it in a way that makes it cozier or more comfortable. Homelike can also be used to describe a place that’s not a home but that’s comfortable and inviting like your own home, such as a hotel room. Example: The new fireplace makes the living room feel so homelike.
Synonym Usage
See homely.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of homelike
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.
When he composed a portrait of a mother and father holding their deceased child, Van Der Zee placed a radio in frame to make the funerary scene appear more homelike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
Some seek to expand funding or services, including for chaplains, mental health treatment, training and pay; and programs that allow juveniles in hardened facilities transition to homelike settings for good behavior.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 31, 2023
The agreement lays out a four-year plan to reduce the use of force against juveniles, to create a more homelike setting and to boost educational and mental health services.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2021
Advocates for children say improved mental health care and other services could allow more children to return home sooner or live in a more homelike setting with foster parents.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2020
‘If there are hobbit-folk in these parts, why don’t we look for some that would be willing to take us in? It would be more homelike.’
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
