Meanings
plural homelinesses
- countableuncountableThe property of being homely.
- countableuncountableThe quality associated with home; domesticity.
How many familiar faces, rejoicing in our joy, sorrowing with our sorrow—how many cares, pleasant from habit—sickness, whose suffering gave a tenderer character to love—mirth, the mirth of the cheerful hearth or the daily meal—mirth, like home-made bread, sweeter from its very homeliness—...
1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Romance and Reality. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, pages 209–210
Synonyms & antonyms
nounhaving a drab or dowdy quality; lacking stylishness or elegance
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishhomlynesse
- Englishhomeliness
From Middle English homlynesse, homelynesse, hamelynes, equivalent to homely + -ness.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
homeliness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homeliness
“homeliness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homeliness. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “homeliness,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homeliness.
Source: homeliness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.