heavenly
/ˈhɛvənli/ adjective, adverb, proper noun
Forms heavenlier heavenliest
- adjective (religion) Of or pertaining to Heaven, the eternal celestial abode of God or the gods. “Heavenly Father, I come to You as Your child, kicking and screaming.”
- adjective Synonym of celestial: of or pertaining to the heavens, the sky regarded as the realm of the sun, moon, planets, and stars. “The other heavenly bodies are primarily controlled by the attractive force of the Sun.”
- adjective (figurative) Strongly or sublimely good, beautiful, or pleasurable. “Oh, that's absolutely heavenly. Gimme some more.”
- adverb In a manner like that of heaven; by the influence or agency of heaven; divinely, miraculously.
- adverb To a degree such as to elicit great pleasure.
- proper noun A female given name.
Synonyms
celestial celest otherworldly ethereal empyreal empyrean etheric transcendental sublime spiritual eternal blessed devoutful divine hallowed holy godly sacred sanctimonious ageful
Antonyms
earthly worldly worldy terrestrial material mundane sublunar sublunary profane temporal unheavenly areligious
Etymology
From Middle English hevenely, hevenly, from Old English heofonlīċ (“heavenly, celestial, chaste”), equivalent to heaven + -ly. Cognate with Old Saxon himillīk (“heavenly”), Middle Dutch himellec, hemellijc (“heavenly”), Middle High German himmellich (“heavenly”).
See heavenly. Equivalent to Heaven + -ly.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Pertaining to, resembling, or inhabiting heaven; celestial; not earthly; as, heavenly regions; heavenly music.
- adjective Appropriate to heaven in character or happiness; perfect; pure; supremely blessed; as, a heavenly race; the heavenly, throng.
- adverb In a manner resembling that of heaven. "She was heavenly true." Shak.
- adverb By the influence or agency of heaven.
Etymology [AS. heofonic.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “heavenly”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details