hallowed

adjective

hal·​lowed ˈha-(ˌ)lōd 

ˈha-ləd

in the Lord's Prayer often ˈha-lə-wəd

1

: holy, consecrated

the church stands on hallowed ground

2

: sacred, revered

the university's hallowed halls

hallowed customs

Did you know?

Hallowed Has Old English Roots

The adjective hallowed, meaning "holy" or "revered," isn’t especially spooky, but its history is entwined with that of a certain spooky season. Hallowed is the past participle of the verb hallow, a term that descends from the Middle English word halowen. That word can be traced back to the Old English adjective hālig, meaning "holy." During the Middle Ages, All Hallows' Day was the name for what Christians now call All Saints' Day (hallow was once used also as a noun referring to a saint), and the evening that preceded All Hallows' Day was All Hallows' Eve or All Hallow Even—or, as we know it today, Halloween. (Although pumpkins are often hollowed out on Halloween, hollow has a different Old English root.)

Synonyms of hallowed

• venerable
• venerated
• revered
• sacred

Examples of hallowed in a Sentence

The church stands on hallowed ground.

the college's hallowed tradition of ringing the chapel bell one hundred times before commencement ceremonies

Recent Examples on the Web

But plenty of other contenders made trades to take a shot at hoisting hockey’s hallowed trophy, including the Central Division rival Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild. —ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026

Lydia, naturally, has her own reasons for pairing Agnes and Daisy together, evolving from a ruthless zealot and disciplinarian in Handmaid’s Tale into a kind of double agent looking to overthrow Gilead from within the hallowed halls of power in Testaments, as the finale set her up to do. —Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 5 Mar. 2026

Visitors can get close to that horrific yet hallowed spot. —David Greising, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026

Palmerston, the black and white feline who rose from the streets of London to the hallowed halls of Britain’s Foreign Office, has died in Bermuda, London’s foreign ministry said Monday. —Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see hallow

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hallowed

• unhallowed

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!