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
His new film Fatherland, like Cold War and Ida, is shot in a lustrous monochrome that turns shadows into punctuation marks and sunbeams into something holy, and that makes its performers, chief among them an incredible Sandra Hüller, look lit from within.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 May 2026
Jews revere the site as the Temple Mount, where the biblical temples once stood and the holiest site in Judaism.
—Julia Frankel, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
Fisk is hiding in the light, and the vigilantes are hiding in the darkness, but [in this case] light does not represent anything holy or just.
—ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026
Matters concerning the care and management of holy sites, too, would be subject to Israeli law.
—Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for holy
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Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 May 2026
Jews revere the site as the Temple Mount, where the biblical temples once stood and the holiest site in Judaism.
—Julia Frankel, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
Fisk is hiding in the light, and the vigilantes are hiding in the darkness, but [in this case] light does not represent anything holy or just.
—ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026
Matters concerning the care and management of holy sites, too, would be subject to Israeli law.
—Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for holy
Cite this Entry
“Holy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/holy. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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