Holy

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.

• formal

  consecrated

  a rite has formally dedicated the subject to religious use

  not when Consecrated requires an act of dedication and is wrong for sacredness recognized without one.

• formal

  divine

  the subject belongs to or proceeds from a deity

  not when Divine is stronger than holy and should not label a merely dedicated object.

• formal

  sacred

  reverence and protection from ordinary use are central

  not when Something can be sacred outside religion, and divine dedication is not automatic.

• literary

  hallowed

  long reverence or solemn memory gives the subject special status

  not when Hallowed can be secular and historical rather than divine.

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.

• warm

  saintly

  exceptional goodness resembles the ideal associated with a saint

  not when Saintly is comparative and can sound exaggerated or denominational.

• professional

  devout

  sincere commitment to faith and practice is observable

  not when Devout describes dedication, not proof of moral purity.

• literary

  righteous

  conduct conforms to the tradition's account of justice or morality

  not when Righteous evaluates conduct; it does not mark someone or something as spiritually set apart.

• profane
• secular
• desecrated
• sinful
• corrupt

• 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.

• Holiness n.

Holy depends on religious context; identify the tradition and avoid using sacred status to make unsupported moral claims about people or institutions.