Adjacent Words

Homely definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HO'MELY, a. [from home.] Of plain features; not handsome; as a homely face. It expresses less than ugly.
Let time, which makes you homely, make you wise.
1. Plain, like that which is made for common domestic use; rude; coarse; not fine or elegant; as a homely garment; a homely house; homely are.
Now Strephon daily entertains
His Chloe in the homeliest strains.
HO'MELY, adv. Plainly; rudely; coarsely; as homely dressed. [Little used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: lacking in physical beauty or proportion; "a homely child"; "several of the buildings were downright homely"; "a plain girl with a freckled face" [syn: homely, plain]
2: having a feeling of home; cozy and comfortable; "the homely everyday atmosphere"; "a homey little inn" [syn: homelike, homely, homey, homy]
3: plain and unpretentious; "homely truths"; "letters to his son full of homely advice"; "homely fare"
4: without artificial refinement or elegance; "plain homely furniture"; "homely manners"

Merriam Webster's

adjective (homelier; -est) Date: 14th century 1. suggestive or characteristic of a home 2. being something familiar with which one is at home <satisfy themselves with houses, furniture, books and clothes that were worn and homely and friendly to the touch — Brendan Gill> 3. a. unaffectedly natural ; simple b. not elaborate or complex <homely virtues> 4. plain or unattractive in appearance • homeliness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. (homelier, homeliest) 1 a simple, plain. b unpretentious. c primitive. 2 US (of people or their features) not attractive in appearance, ugly. 3 comfortable in the manner of a home, cosy. 4 skilled at housekeeping. Derivatives: homeliness n.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Homely Home"ly, adv. Plainly; rudely; coarsely; as, homely dressed. [R.] --Spenser.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Homely Home"ly, a. [Compar. Homelier; superl. Homeliest.] [From Home, n.] 1. Belonging to, or having the characteristics of, home; domestic; familiar; intimate. [Archaic] With all these men I was right homely, and communed with, them long and oft. --Foxe. Their homely joys, and destiny obscure. --Gray. 2. Plain; unpretending; rude in appearance; unpolished; as, a homely garment; a homely house; homely fare; homely manners. Now Strephon daily entertains His Chloe in the homeliest strains. --Pope. 3. Of plain or coarse features; uncomely; -- contrary to handsome. None so homely but loves a looking-glass. --South.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If you describe a room or house as homely, you like it because you feel comfortable and relaxed there. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use homey) We try and provide a very homely atmosphere. = cosy ADJ [approval] 2. If you describe a woman as homely, you mean that she has a warm, comforting manner and looks like someone who would enjoy being at home and running a family. (BRIT) Mrs Jones was a pleasant, homely person with a ready smile. ADJ 3. If you say that someone is homely, you mean that they are not very attractive to look at. (AM) The man was homely and overweight. = plain ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Domestic, homelike. 2. Plain, coarse, uncomely, homespun, in-elegant. 3. Plain, plain-looking, of plain features, uncomely, rather ugly.

Moby Thesaurus

Attic, Babbittish, Bohemian, Philistine, Spartan, affable, amiable, ascetic, austere, bald, bare, baseborn, basic, beautiless, below the salt, blemished, blotted, bourgeois, cacophonic, cacophonous, campy, candid, casual, chaste, cheerful, classic, classical, cockney, comfortable, comfy, commodious, common, commonplace, congenial, contented, convenient, cordial, cosy, cozy, cushioned, cushiony, cushy, defaced, degage, direct, disfigured, domestic, dry, dull, dysphemistic, dysphemized, easeful, easy, easygoing, elementary, essential, everyday, familiar, folksy, frank, free and easy, friendly, fundamental, garden, garden-variety, general, gracious, haymish, high-camp, homelike, homespun, homey, homish, homogeneous, household, humble, humble-looking, humble-visaged, humblest, ill-favored, indivisible, inelegant, informal, inglorious, innocuous, intimate, irreducible, irregular, kitschy, lean, least, lived-in, loose, low, low-camp, lowborn, lowbred, lowest, lowliest, lowly, luxurious, marred, matter-of-fact, mean, mere, modest, monolithic, natural, neat, nonclerical, nondescript, of a piece, offhand, offhanded, open, ordinary, peaceful, plain, plain-speaking, plain-spoken, plebeian, poor, pop, popular, primal, primary, prosaic, prosing, prosy, public, pure, pure and simple, relaxed, relaxing, reposeful, restful, roomy, rude, rustic, serene, severe, shabby-genteel, short on looks, simon-pure, simple, simple-speaking, single, small, snug, sober, sociable, soft, spare, spoiled, stark, straightforward, teachable, third-estate, tranquil, uglified, ugly, ugly as hell, ugly as sin, unadorned, unaesthetic, unaffected, unalluring, unassuming, unattractive, unbeauteous, unbeautiful, unceremonious, uncluttered, uncomely, unconstrained, unconventional, undifferenced, undifferentiated, undistinguished, unelaborate, ungarnished, ungenteel, unhandsome, uniform, unimaginative, unimportant, unlovely, unofficial, unornamented, unostentatious, unpleasing, unpoetical, unpretending, unpretentious, unpretty, unsightly, unsophisticated, unstudied, unvarnished, vernacular, vulgar, warm, workaday, workday