holier; holiest
1
: exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness
2
: divine
… for the Lord our God is holy.—
Psalms 99:9 (King James Version)
Psalms 99:9 (King James Version)3
: devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity
a holy temple
holy prophets
4
a
: having a divine quality
holy love
b
: venerated as or as if sacred
holy scripture
a holy relic
5
—used as an intensive
this is a holy mess
he was a holy terror when he drank—Thomas Wolfe
—often used in combination as a mild oathThomas Wolfeholy smoke
Examples of holy in a Sentence
a holy relic worn by one of the saints
the holy monk spent many hours on his knees in prayer
Recent Examples on the Web
Indeed, to those few aware of its existence — Bryant’s inner circle as well as a small group of Hollywood insiders — those thousands of hours of footage have become something like a holy shrine to a mythic figure.
—Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 19 Dec. 2025
God chose a family, a holy family, a 14-year-old virgin, to bring his son into the world through the womb, which is statistically now the most dangerous place in the world.
—Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 17 Dec. 2025
According to Rabbi Korik, the festival honors a time when faced with an oppressive regime, Jews were able to reclaim their holy temple.
—Hannah Ruhoff, Sacbee.com, 15 Dec. 2025
Hanukkah celebrates a miracle from over 2,000 years ago, when one small jug of oil kept a holy lamp lit for eight nights.
—Holly Rizzuto Palker, Parents, 14 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for holy
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Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 19 Dec. 2025
God chose a family, a holy family, a 14-year-old virgin, to bring his son into the world through the womb, which is statistically now the most dangerous place in the world.
—Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 17 Dec. 2025
According to Rabbi Korik, the festival honors a time when faced with an oppressive regime, Jews were able to reclaim their holy temple.
—Hannah Ruhoff, Sacbee.com, 15 Dec. 2025
Hanukkah celebrates a miracle from over 2,000 years ago, when one small jug of oil kept a holy lamp lit for eight nights.
—Holly Rizzuto Palker, Parents, 14 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for holy
Cite this Entry
“Holy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/holy. Accessed 20 Dec. 2025.
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