homely

[ hohm-lee ]
See synonyms for homely on Thesaurus.com
adjective,home·li·er, home·li·est.
  1. lacking in physical attractiveness; not beautiful; unattractive: a homely child.

  2. not having elegance, refinement, or cultivation.

  1. proper or suited to the home or to ordinary domestic life; plain; unpretentious: homely food.

  2. commonly seen or known.

Origin of homely

1
First recorded in 1300–50, homely is from the Middle English word homly.See home, -ly

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

  • home·li·ness, noun
  • o·ver·home·li·ness, noun
  • o·ver·home·ly, adjective
  • un·home·li·ness, noun
  • un·home·ly, adjective

Words that may be confused with homely

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use homely in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for homely

homely

/ (ˈhəʊmlɪ) /


adjective-lier or -liest
  1. characteristic of or suited to the ordinary home; unpretentious

  2. (of a person)

    • British warm and domesticated in manner or appearance

    • mainly US and Canadian plain or ugly

Derived forms of homely

  • homeliness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012