homely

play

adjective home·ly \ˈhōm-lē\

Definition of homely

homelier

;

homeliest

1 : suggestive or characteristic of a place of residence or home
2 : being something familiar with which a person is comfortable and at ease : comfortable and familiar like home satisfy themselves with houses, furniture, books and clothes that were worn and homely and friendly to the touch — Brendan Gill
3a : free from affectation : unaffectedly natural : simple plain, homely proseb : not elaborate or complex homely virtues
4 : plain or unattractive in appearance a homely face he's a bit homely

homeliness

noun

See homely defined for English-language learners

See homely defined for kids

Examples of homely in a Sentence

She has a homely face.
He's a bit homely but nice.
the homely appeal of farm life

Recent Examples of homely from the Web

The animals EDGE actively promoted fared better with potential donors—including some homely ones.

— Smithsonian, "When it Comes to Conservation, Are Ugly Animals a Lost Cause?", 28 June 2017
A blind Chihuahua-Chinese Crested mix named Sweepee Rambo bested 16 other homely hounds in last year’s competition and waddled away with $1,500, a trophy and a flight to New York with her owner, Jason Wurtz, for media appearances.

— Washington Post, "World’s Ugliest Dog Contest awards underdogs’ inner beauty", 23 June 2017
The Nissan’s homely styling carries over, the interior remains a depressing haven of cheap plastics and parts-bin pieces, and its dynamic abilities are no better than before.

— greg fink, Car and Driver, "2017 Nissan Versa Sedan Automatic", 16 June 2017
The women are thus free to practice their homely skills, such as leaning sideways from the saddle of a galloping horse until their heads are on a level with their stirrups and then, from this comfortable position, loosing off an arrow at the target.

— anthony lane, The New Yorker, "Top Ten Things About Wonder Woman", 5 June 2017
There are true glam items — an apparitionally perfect marble kouros; a cup attributed to the great Penthesilea Painter — but also homely ones: pottery shards with inscriptions, that kind of thing.

— holland cotter, New York Times, "Review: ‘A World of Emotions’ in Greek Art Unmasks the Stony Faces", 23 Mar. 2017
Exhibits: Windows, a knockoff of Apple's knockoff of Xerox's desktop GUI, and Internet Explorer 3.0, a homely cousin of Netscape's Mozilla.

— wired staff, WIRED, "83 Reasons Why Bill Gates’s Reign Is Over", 1 Dec. 1998

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'homely'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of homely

14th century

HOMELY Defined for English Language Learners

homely

play

adjective

Definition of homely for English Language Learners

: not pretty or handsome : plain or unattractive
: plain and simple in an appealing or pleasant way

HOMELY Defined for Kids

homely

play

adjective home·ly \ˈhōm-lē\

Definition of homely for Students

homelier

;

homeliest

1 : not pretty or handsome a homely face
2 : suggesting home life homely comforts … there it was, a plain, homely little house … — Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting