holy
/ˈhoʊli/
nounadjective
Core
1.n.a sacred place of pilgrimage
2.adj.belonging to or derived from or associated with a divine power
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holy and wholly are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. holy means “a sacred place of pilgrimage”. wholly means “to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (`whole' is often used informally for `wholly')”. holy is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈhoʊli/
1.n.a sacred place of pilgrimage
2.adj.belonging to or derived from or associated with a divine power
/ˈhoʊli/
| holy | wholly | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈhoʊli/ | /ˈhoʊli/ |
| Said | HOH-lee | HOH-lee |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 4 | 6 |
| Parts of speech | noun, adjective | adverb |
| Senses | 2 | 1 |
| How common | Core | Familiar |
| Synonyms | holy place, sanctum | entirely, completely, totally |
Full entry for holy · Full entry for wholly · More comparisons
1.adv.to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (`whole' is often used informally for `wholly')
“he was wholly convinced”