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Homeliest

 - 3 dictionary results

home⋅ly

[hohm-lee]
–adjective, -li⋅er, -li⋅est.
1. lacking in physical attractiveness; not beautiful; unattractive: a homely child.
2. not having elegance, refinement, or cultivation.
3. proper or suited to the home or to ordinary domestic life; plain; unpretentious: homely food.
4. commonly seen or known.

Origin:
1300–50; ME homly. See home, -ly


home⋅li⋅ness, noun


1, 2, 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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home·ly   (hōm'lē)   
adj.   home·li·er, home·li·est
  1. Not attractive or good-looking: a homely child.

  2. Lacking elegance or refinement: homely furniture.

  3. Of a simple or unpretentious nature; plain: homely truths.

  4. Characteristic of the home or of home life: homely skills.

home'li·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

homely 
c.1300, "of or belonging to home or household, domestic," from M.E. hom "home." Sense of "plain, unadorned, simple" is c.1380, and extension to "having a plain appearance" took place before 1400, but now survives chiefly in U.S., esp. in New England, where it is the usual term for "physically unattractive;" ugly being typically "ill-tempered."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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