Meaning 1
Set apart for divine purpose or regarded as sacred.
Reach for it when describing a place, object, time, or text within a religious tradition
Pilgrims entered the holy place according to its caretakers' guidance.
Meaning 2
Marked by profound spiritual devotion or moral purity.
Reach for it when describing a person or way of life within the standards of a named faith
The biography portrays her holy life through ordinary acts of mercy.
| Meaning 1 | Meaning 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| warm | ||
| professional | ||
| formal |
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| literary |
formal
consecrated
Fits when a rite has formally dedicated the subject to religious use
Careful Consecrated requires an act of dedication and is wrong for sacredness recognized without one.
formal
Fits when the subject belongs to or proceeds from a deity
Careful Divine is stronger than holy and should not label a merely dedicated object.
formal
Fits when reverence and protection from ordinary use are central
Careful Something can be sacred outside religion, and divine dedication is not automatic.
literary
Fits when long reverence or solemn memory gives the subject special status
Careful Hallowed can be secular and historical rather than divine.
warm
saintly
Fits when exceptional goodness resembles the ideal associated with a saint
Careful Saintly is comparative and can sound exaggerated or denominational.
professional
Fits when sincere commitment to faith and practice is observable
Careful Devout describes dedication, not proof of moral purity.
literary
Fits when conduct conforms to the tradition's account of justice or morality
Careful Righteous evaluates conduct; it does not mark someone or something as spiritually set apart.
holy place
The holy place remains under the care of the community that worships there.
holy day
The holy day begins at sunset in this tradition.
holy person
Calling someone a holy person does not remove the need for accountability.
holy life
The memoir presents a holy life as one of patient service.
Keep in mind
Holy depends on religious context; identify the tradition and avoid using sacred status to make unsupported moral claims about people or institutions.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated
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