homely

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Related to homely: kerfuffle

homely

plain; unattractive: a homely mongrel; lacking refinement: a homely country boy

Not to be confused with:

homey – comfortably informal; cozy; homelike; warm and friendly: a homey cottage

home·ly

(hōm′lē)

adj. home·li·er, home·li·est

1. Not attractive or good-looking: a homely child.

2. Lacking elegance or refinement: homely furniture.

3. Of a simple or unpretentious nature; plain: homely truths.

4. Characteristic of the home or of home life: homely skills.

home′li·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

homely

(ˈhəʊmlɪ)

adj, -lier or -liest

1. characteristic of or suited to the ordinary home; unpretentious

2. (of a person)

a. Brit warm and domesticated in manner or appearance

b. chiefly US and Canadian plain or ugly

ˈhomeliness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

home•ly

(ˈhoʊm li)

adj. -li•er, -li•est.

1. lacking in physical attractiveness; plain.

2. simple; unpretentious: homely food.

3. commonly seen or known; familiar.

[1300–50; Middle English homly]

home′li•ness, n.

homely

In American English, if you say that a person is homely, you mean that they are not attractive to look at.

He was presumably Caporelli's neighbor, this meek-looking, homely man in the tweed jacket.

A broad grin spread across his homely features.

You cannot use homely in this way in British English. If you want to say that someone is not attractive to look at, you say that they are plain.

...a plain plump girl with pigtails.

In British English, if you say that someone is homely, you mean that they behave kindly and in a simple, unsophisticated way.

He greeted us in his usual homely manner.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.	1.	homely - lacking in physical beauty or proportion; "a homely child"; "several of the buildings were downright homely"; "a plain girl with a freckled face" plain unattractive - lacking beauty or charm; "as unattractive as most mining regions"
	2.	homely - having a feeling of home; cozy and comfortable; "the homely everyday atmosphere"; "a homey little inn" homelike, homey, homy comfortable, comfy - providing or experiencing physical well-being or relief (`comfy' is informal); "comfortable clothes"; "comfortable suburban houses"; "made himself comfortable in an armchair"; "the antihistamine made her feel more comfortable"; "are you comfortable?"; "feeling comfy now?"
	3.	homely - plain and unpretentious; "homely truths"; "letters to his son full of homely advice"; "homely fare" plain - not elaborate or elaborated; simple; "plain food"; "stuck to the plain facts"; "a plain blue suit"; "a plain rectangular brick building"
	4.	homely - without artificial refinement or elegance; "plain homely furniture"; "homely manners" inelegant - lacking in refinement or grace or good taste

homely

adjective

1. comfortable, welcoming, friendly, domestic, familiar, informal, cosy, comfy (informal), homespun, downhome (slang, chiefly U.S.), homelike, homy We try and provide a very homely atmosphere.

2. plain, simple, natural, ordinary, modest, everyday, down-to-earth, unaffected, unassuming, unpretentious, unfussy Scottish baking is homely, comforting and truly good.
plain affected, grand, sophisticated, elegant, elaborate, splendid, refined, regal, pretentious, ostentatious

3. (U.S.) unattractive, plain, ugly, not striking, unprepossessing, not beautiful, no oil painting (informal), ill-favoured The man was homely and overweight.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

homely

adjective

1. Not handsome or beautiful:

plain, unattractive, uncomely, unlovely.

Idioms: not much for looks, not much to look at, short on looks.

2. Of a plain and unsophisticated nature:

artless, homespun, natural, rustic, unadorned, unpolished.

3. Of or relating to the family or household:

domestic, familial, family, home, household.

Translations

بَسيطبَيتيغَيْر جَذّاب

domácídomáckýnehezký

enkelgrimhjemligjævnutiltrækkende

anheimelnd hausbacken reizlos

laid sans prétentions

nem szépotthonias

heimilislegurófríîur

bruttino brutto casalingo domestico semplice

mindre pen uskjønn

basit fakat hoşcana yakın candan çirkinsevimsiz

不好看的如在家的家常的相貌平庸的

homely

[ˈhəʊmlɪ] ADJ (homelier (compar) (homeliest (superl)))

1. (= like home) [food] → casero; [atmosphere] → familiar; [advice] → prosaico
it's very homely here → aquí se está como en casa

2. (Brit) [woman] → sencillo

3. (US) (= unattractive) → poco atractivo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

homely

[ˈhəʊmli] adj

(= cosy) [room, atmosphere, place] → simple et accueillant(e)

(US) (= plain) → au physique plutôt ingrat
The man was homely and fat → L'homme avait un physique plutôt ingrat et était trop gros.home-made [ˌhəʊmˈmeɪd] adj → fait(e) maisonhome-maker [ˈhəʊmlmeɪkə^r] n (woman) → femme f d'intérieur; (man) → homme m d'intérieurhome match n → match m à domicilehome movie n → vidéo f amateurhome nations npl (British) (= England, N. Ireland, Scotland & Wales) the home nations → les quatre nations fpl britanniqueshome news npl → des nouvelles fpl du paysHome Office n (British) → ministère m de l'Intérieur

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

homely

adj (+er)

person (Brit: = home-loving) → häuslich, hausbacken (pej); atmosphere, restaurant → heimelig, gemütlich, behaglich; style → anspruchslos, hausbacken (pej); advice → einfach

food → bürgerlich

(US: = plain) person → unscheinbar; face → reizlos

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

homely

[ˈhəʊmlɪ] adj (-ier (comp) (-iest (superl))) (food, person) → semplice, alla buona; (atmosphere) → familiare, accogliente; (advice) → pratico/a (Am) (plain, person, features) → insignificante

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

home

(həum) noun

1. the house, town, country etc where a person etc usually lives. I work in London but my home is in Bournemouth; When I retire, I'll make my home in Bournemouth; Africa is the home of the lion; We'll have to find a home for the kitten.

2. the place from which a person, thing etc comes originally. America is the home of jazz.

3. a place where children without parents, old people, people who are ill etc live and are looked after. an old folk's home; a nursing home.

4. a place where people stay while they are working. a nurses' home.

5. a house. Crumpy Construction build fine homes for fine people; He invited me round to his home.

adjective

1. of a person's home or family. home comforts.

2. of the country etc where a person lives. home produce.

3. (in football) playing or played on a team's own ground. the home team; a home game.

adverb

1. to a person's home. I'm going home now; Hallo – I'm home!

2. completely; to the place, position etc a thing is intended to be. He drove the nail home; Few of his punches went home; These photographs of the war brought home to me the suffering of the soldiers.

ˈhomeless noun plural, adjective

(people) without a place to live in. This charity was set up to help the homeless; homeless people.

ˈhomely adjective

1. simple but pleasant. homely food.

2. making a person feel he is at home. a homely atmosphere.

3. (American) (of a person) not attractive; ugly.

ˈhomeliness noun

ˈhoming adjective

1. (of pigeons etc) which (can) fly home when set free a long way from home.

2. able to take a missile etc to its target. These torpedoes have homing devices in their noses.

ˈhome-coming noun

1. the return home of a person (who has been away for some time). We had a party to celebrate his home-coming.

2. (American) an annual event held by a college, a university or high school for former students.

ˌhome-ˈgrown adjective

grown in one's own garden or in one's own country. These tomatoes are home-grown.

ˈhomeland noun

a person's native land. Immigrants often weep for their homeland.

ˌhome-ˈmade adjective

made by a person at home; not professionally made. home-made jam; home-made furniture.

home rule

the government of a country or part of a country by its own citizens.

ˈhomesick adjective

missing one's home. When the boy first went to boarding-school he was very homesick.

ˈhomesickness noun

ˈhomestead (-sted) noun

a house, especially a farm, with the land and other buildings (eg barns) which belong to it, especially in the United States, Australia etc.

home truth

a plain statement of something which is unpleasant but true (about a person, his behaviour etc) said directly to the person. It's time someone told him a few home truths.

ˈhomeward adjective

going home. his homeward journey.

ˈhomeward(s) adverb

towards home. his journey homeward; He journeyed homewards.

ˈhomework noun

work or study done at home, especially by a school pupil. Finish your homework!

at home

1. in one's home. I'm afraid he's not at home.

2. (in football etc) in one's own ground. The team is playing at home today.

be/feel at home

to feel as relaxed as one does in one's own home or in a place or situation one knows well. I always feel at home in France; He's quite at home with cows – he used to live on a farm.

home in on

to move towards (a target etc). The missile is designed to home in on aircraft.

leave home

1. to leave one's house. I usually leave home at 7.30 a.m.

2. to leave one's home to go and live somewhere else. He left home at the age of fifteen to get a job in Australia.

make oneself at home

to make oneself as comfortable and relaxed as one would at home. Make yourself at home!

nothing to write home about

not very good. The concert was nothing to write home about.

References in classic literature ?

Lynde said you were redhaired and homely. You say it yourself often enough."

View in context

They were quaint and sympathetic, those two homely basins, unfurnished and silent, with no aggressive display of cranes, no apparatus of hurry and work on their narrow shores.

View in context

That must be the story of innumerable couples, and the pattern of life it offers has a homely grace.

View in context

More makes believe that one day in Antwerp he saw a man "well stricken in age, with a black sun-burned face, a long beard, and a cloak cast homely about his shoulders, whom by his favour and apparel forthwith I judged to be a mariner."

View in context

Veslovsky sang songs and related with enjoyment his adventures with the peasants, who had regaled him with vodka, and said to him, "Excuse our homely ways," and his night's adventures with kiss-in-the-ring and the servant-girl and the peasant, who had asked him was he married, and on learning that he was not, said to him, "Well, mind you don't run after other men's wives--you'd better get one of your own." These words had particularly amused Veslovsky.

View in context

After that, when we went in to supper, the place and the meal would have a more homely look than ever, and I would feel more ashamed of home than ever, in my own ungracious breast.

View in context

Homely filth begrimes him, homely parasites devour him, homely sores are in him, homely rags are on him; native ignorance, the growth of English soil and climate, sinks his immortal nature lower than the beasts that perish.

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The Nazarene girls are homely. Some of them have large, lustrous eyes, but none of them have pretty faces.

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"I'm so afraid, Cecily, that I'm going to be homely all my life," said poor Sara with a tremble in her voice.

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His triumphant and loving joy in his religion enables him often to attain the poetic beauty and eloquence of his original; but both by instinct and of set purpose he rendered his own style even more simple and direct, partly by the use of homely vernacular expressions.

View in context

She was a homely woman, with a small weazened face and body and eyes that glowed.

View in context

The exclamation was homely, but it revealed a real acceptance of my further proof of what, in the bad time-- for there had been a worse even than this!--must have occurred.