Link Centre Dictionary

ungodly

un·godly

UK/ʌnˈɡɒdli/ US/ʌnˈɡɑdli/ uncommon informal obsolete

adjective

1.

characterized by iniquity; wicked because it is believed to be a sin

  • “iniquitous deeds”
  • “he said it was sinful to wear lipstick”
  • “ungodly acts”
Synonyms
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2.

lacking piety and reverence for a god

Synonyms
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Origin

From Middle English ungodli (“cruelly, maliciously, wickedly; unfairly, unlawfully, wrongly; discourteously, rudely”) [and other forms], from un- (prefix meaning ‘not’), + godli (“excellently; pleasingly, splendidly; courteously, graciously; gladly, willingly; righteously; properly, rightly; at all, possibly; much”). Godli is probably derived from Old English gōdlīċe (“goodly”), from gōd (“good”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (“to join, unite; to suit”)) + -līċe (suffix forming adverbs); thus, equivalent to un- + good + -ly. The English word is cognate with Middle Dutch ongodelike, ongodlike (modern Dutch ongoddelijk), Middle High German ungöttlich, Swedish ogudelike, ogudlike (both obsolete), ogudligt.

Phrases

  • ungodly hour

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.