holy

sacred; hallowed: holy ground

Not to be confused with:

holey – full of holes: holey cheese

wholly – completely; entirely: The group was wholly in favor of the proposition.

ho·ly

(hō′lē)

adj. ho·li·er, ho·li·est

1. Belonging to, derived from, or associated with a divine power; sacred.

2. Regarded with veneration or specified for a religious purpose: a holy book; a holy place.

3. Living or undertaken with highly moral or spiritual purpose; saintly: a holy person; a holy way of life.

4. Regarded as deserving special respect or reverence: The pursuit of peace is our holiest quest.

5. Informal Used as an intensive: raised holy hell over the mischief their children did.

ho′li·ly adv.

ho′li·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

holy

(ˈhəʊlɪ)

adj, holier or holiest

1. (Ecclesiastical Terms) of, relating to, or associated with God or a deity; sacred

2. (Ecclesiastical Terms) endowed or invested with extreme purity or sublimity

3. (Ecclesiastical Terms) devout, godly, or virtuous

4. holier-than-thou offensively sanctimonious or self-righteous: a holier-than-thou attitude.

5. holy terror

a. a difficult or frightening person

b. Irish informal a person who is an active gambler, womanizer, etc

n, pl -lies

(Ecclesiastical Terms)

a. a sacred place

b. the holy (functioning as plural) persons or things invested with holiness

[Old English hālig, hǣlig; related to Old Saxon hēlag, Gothic hailags, German heilig; see hallow]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ho•ly

(ˈhoʊ li)

adj. -li•er, -li•est.

1. recognized as or declared sacred by religious use or authority; consecrated: holy ground.

2. dedicated or devoted to the service of God, the church, or religion.

3. saintly; pious; devout.

4. having a spiritually pure quality: a holy love.

5. venerated as or as if sacred: a holy relic.

6. inspiring fear, awe, or distress: He's a holy terror when he's angry.

[before 900; Middle English holi, Old English hālig, variant of hāleg=hāl whole + -eg -y¹; c. Old Saxon hēlag, Old High German heilag, Old Norse heilagr]

ho′li•ly, adv.

syn: holy, sacred, hallowed refer to something that is the object of worship or veneration. holy refers to the divine, that which has its sanctity directly from God or is connected with Him: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Something that is sacred is usu. dedicated to a religious purpose by human authority: a sacred shrine. Something that is hallowed has been made holy by being worshiped or venerated: The church graveyard is hallowed ground.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

holy - a sacred place of pilgrimage

place, spot, topographic point - a point located with respect to surface features of some region; "this is a nice place for a picnic"; "a bright spot on a planet"

Adj.

holy - belonging to or derived from or associated with a divine power

consecrate, consecrated, dedicated - solemnly dedicated to or set apart for a high purpose; "a life consecrated to science"; "the consecrated chapel"; "a chapel dedicated to the dead of World War II"

sacred - concerned with religion or religious purposes; "sacred texts"; "sacred rites"; "sacred music"

holy

adjective

1. sacred, blessed, hallowed, dedicated, venerable, consecrated, venerated, sacrosanct, sanctified To them, as to all Tibetans, this is a holy place.
sacred unholy, desecrated, unconsecrated, unhallowed, unsanctified

2. devout, godly, religious, pure, divine, faithful, righteous, pious, virtuous, hallowed, saintly, god-fearing The Indians think of him as a holy man.
devout worldly, earthly, evil, corrupt, secular, immoral, wicked, sinful, unholy, blasphemous, sacrilegious, irreligious, impious

Quotations
"Is that which is holy loved by the gods because it is holy, or is it holy because it is loved by the gods?" [Plato Euthyphro]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

holy

adjective

1. Of, from, like, or being a god or God:

2. In the service or worship of God or a god:

3. Regarded with particular reverence or respect:

4. Deeply concerned with God and the beliefs and practice of religion:

Translations

svatýposvátný

hellig

pyhä

svet

szent életû

heilagurheilagur; hreinn í hjarta

神聖な

신성한

sacer

Didysis ketvirtadienisŠventasis Tėvasšventenybėšventumas

svētītssvēts

svet

helig

เป็นที่เคารพบูชา

linh thiêng

holy

[ˈhəʊlɪ] (holier (compar) (holiest (superl)))

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

holy

Holy Ark

n (Eccl) → Thoraschrein m

Holy Thursday

(in Anglican Church) → Himmelfahrtstag m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

holy

[ˈhəʊlɪ]

1. adj (-ier (comp) (-iest (superl))) (gen) → santo/a; (ground, bread) → consacrato/a, benedetto/a; (person) → pio/a; (vow) → religioso/a
the Holy Trinity → la Santissima Trinità
a holy terror (fam) → un demonio

holy

(ˈhəuli) adjective

1. (worthy of worship or respect because) associated with God, Jesus, a saint etc; sacred. the Holy Bible; holy ground.

2. good; pure; following the rules of religion. a holy life.

ˈholiness noun

1. the state of being holy.

2. (with capital. with His, ~Your etc) a title of the Pope.

the Holy Father

the Pope.

Holy ˈThursday noun

1. Ascension Day.

2. Maundy Thursday.

holy

→ مُقَدَّسٌ svatý hellig heilig άγιος santo pyhä sacré svet santo 神聖な 신성한 heilig hellig święty sagrado святой helig เป็นที่เคารพบูชา kutsal linh thiêng 神圣的