Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: halig

holy

 adjective
     
ho‧ly W3 comparative holier, superlative holiest
1 connected with God and religion [↪ sacred]:
the holy city of Benares
2 very religious:
a holy man
3

holy cow/mackerel etc

spoken used to express feelings such as surprise or fear
4

a holy terror

informal someone, especially a child, who causes problems for other people

➔ take (holy) orders

at order1 (18)WORD FOCUS: god WORD FOCUS: god
places where people worship God: church (Christians)
temple (Buddhists and Hindus)
mosque (Muslims)
synagogue (Jews)
treated with great respect because of being connected with God: holy, sacred
having strong beliefs in God: devout, pious
someone who does not believe in God : atheist
someone who is not sure if God exists: agnosticgod

➔ See also god
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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