homely

adjective

home·​ly ˈhōm-lē 

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

3

a

: free from affectation : unaffectedly natural : simple

plain, homely prose

b

: not elaborate or complex

homely virtues

4

: plain or unattractive in appearance

a homely face

he's a bit homely

homeliness noun

Synonyms

• grotesque
• hideous
• ill-favored
• monstrous
• ugly
• unappealing
• unattractive
• unbeautiful
• uncomely
• unhandsome
• unlovely
• unpleasing
• unpretty
• unsightly
• vile

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 on the Web

Here too, a bench with drawers (like the one seen here from Reform) provides a practical and homely solution. 7. —Katharina Schwarze, Architectural Digest, 7 Jan. 2025

Eighteen months ago, the Jewish Museum London, which occupied an idiosyncratic, homely town house in Camden, where my wife and I used to take our kids on rainy weekends, closed its doors for lack of funding. —Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 2 Jan. 2025

Her new homely passageway features a doormat, letterbox, a wreath made up of leaves and a plant. —George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024

Like that terrible, homely, orange curly-haired nurse, with orange polyester and bad glasses. —Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English homly, homely "belonging to a household, used at home, close, intimate, meek, tame, common, unattractive," from hom home entry 1 + -ly -ly entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

homely

adjective

home·​ly ˈhōm-lē 

homelier; homeliest

1

: characteristic of home life

homely meals

2

: not pretty or handsome

a homely person

homeliness noun