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
Visiting the Western Wall has been a frequent highlight of those trips as it's considered to be the holiest site in Judaism.
—Erika Owen, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Jan. 2026
Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani took his midnight oath of office on a centuries-old Quran, marking the first time a mayor of New York City uses Islam’s holy text to be sworn in and underscoring a series of historic firsts for the city.
—Safiyah Riddle, Fortune, 2 Jan. 2026
Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani took his midnight oath of office on a centuries-old Quran, marking the first time a mayor of New York City has used Islam’s holy text to be sworn in and underscoring a series of historic firsts for the city.
—Safiyah Riddle, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2026
Gucci did black purses with Mickey Mouse ears, too, along with a Ducktails print on its logo tote that was, frankly, holy.
—Faran Krentcil, InStyle, 31 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for holy
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Erika Owen, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Jan. 2026
Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani took his midnight oath of office on a centuries-old Quran, marking the first time a mayor of New York City uses Islam’s holy text to be sworn in and underscoring a series of historic firsts for the city.
—Safiyah Riddle, Fortune, 2 Jan. 2026
Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani took his midnight oath of office on a centuries-old Quran, marking the first time a mayor of New York City has used Islam’s holy text to be sworn in and underscoring a series of historic firsts for the city.
—Safiyah Riddle, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2026
Gucci did black purses with Mickey Mouse ears, too, along with a Ducktails print on its logo tote that was, frankly, holy.
—Faran Krentcil, InStyle, 31 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 4 Jan. 2026.
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