What does "homely" mean?

Question

I always thought it meant downright ugly, but other ppl say it means plain or ordinary (common-looking). Which is it?

Answer 1

It has nothing to do with ugliness--it's just plainness that doesn't stand out from any other person. Homely people are usually the ones that look like they crawled out of bed, did the hygienic basics, and didn't do much more. It's plain and common looking--but never ugly. Ugly would be more of horrendous and "she who looks like a Furby". :P

You know--on second though Jennifer looks pretty rough now in comparison with her lovely days of being in The Labyrinth. Looking at her pictures, she appears to have messed up eyes and it also seems she's not aged very gracefully. Poor girl. :(

Answer 2

Plain, unadorned, uncomely. It originally referred to things to do with the home which were comfortable and functional rather than extravagant or gaudy. Referring to people from about the 16th century onwards it meant plain, careworn or uncomely. It has never meant ugly and always has a sense of comfort.

Answer 3

What a wonderful question. Religion is, of course, the form that one's worship takes. Thus there are thousands of forms. Religion includes a system of religious beliefs and practices. The object of the religion may be false gods or the true God. Hence, there is false religion and there is true. Religion can get very fancy or remain simple. In the former case, such as it is today. In the latter case, such as it was in the Garden of Eden. What then is worship to me? How do I worship? To worship means to obey. And to obey means to worship. The two are intimately connected; indeed, they are coterminous and cannot be separated. Specifically, to obey the Sovereign Lord God Jehovah of Armies is to worship Him. I do my imperfect best in this regard. I fall on my face and get back up to try and try again. In the Garden of Eden, so long as they obeyed Jehovah, Adam and Eve were worshiping him. No temple, no Mosaic Law, no meetings. Simply leave the tree of the knowledge of good and bad alone. Simple. The minute they disobeyed, they stopped worshiping Jehovah. Same with the nation of Israel. The minute they attempted to practice a syncretistic religion they stopped worshiping Jehovah. The minute they made the golden calf, they stopped. And on and on. To worship is to obey. To obey is to worship. Hannah J Paul

Answer 4

I think it means ugly, but with some fixing up could mean plain.

Answer 5

I think it's more like plain or ordinary

Answer 6

Simple.

Answer 7

Not pretty, common, plain, unrefined.

Answer 8

it is neutral. rest assured it is not negative but not positive either

Answer 9

i think your answer is right, i think of someone who is unkept, straggly hair, messed up or dirty clothes

Answer 10

It means home alone or missining home.