Link Centre Dictionary

unholy

un·holy

UK/ʌnˈhəʊli/ US/ʌˈnhoʊli/ uncommon

adjective

1.

not hallowed or consecrated

Synonyms
Antonyms
Similar
2.

extremely evil or cruel; expressive of cruelty or befitting hell

  • “something demonic in him--something that could be cruel”
  • “fires lit up a diabolic scene”
  • “diabolical sorcerers under the influence of devils”
  • “a fiendish despot”
  • “hellish torture”
  • “infernal instruments of war”
  • “satanic cruelty”
  • “unholy grimaces”
3.

having committed unrighteous acts

  • “a sinful person”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English unholi, unhaliȝ, from Old English unhāliġ, from Proto-Germanic *unhailagaz, equivalent to un- + holy. Cognate with Scots unhaly, Dutch onheilig, German Low German unhillig, German unheilig, Danish uhellig, Swedish ohelig.

Phrases

  • unholy alliance
  • unholy trinity
  • unholy water

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.