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heavenly

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Heavenly

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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”).

Pronunciation

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  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /ˈhɛvənli/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Adjective

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heavenly (comparative heavenlier or more heavenly, superlative heavenliest or most heavenly)

  1. (religion) Of or pertaining to Heaven, the eternal celestial abode of God or the gods.
    Synonyms: celestial, (obsolete) celest, otherworldly, ethereal, empyreal, empyrean, etheric, transcendental, sublime, spiritual, eternal; see also Thesaurus:holy, Thesaurus:eternal
    Antonyms: earthly, worldly, worldy, terrestrial, material, mundane, sublunar, sublunary, profane, temporal, unheavenly; see also Thesaurus:secular, Thesaurus:unholy, Thesaurus:ephemeral
    Heavenly Father, I come to You as Your child, kicking and screaming.
  2. 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.
  3. (figurative) Strongly or sublimely good, beautiful, or pleasurable.
    Synonyms: paradisal, paradisaical, paradisaic, paradisic; see also Thesaurus:good, Thesaurus:wonderful, Thesaurus:excellent, Thesaurus:awesome
    Oh, that's absolutely heavenly. Gimme some more.
    • 1817, Charles Phillips (author-editor), Speech in the Case of O′Mullan v. M′Korkill, The Speeches of Charles Phillips, page 131,
      No doubt, you have all personally considered — no doubt, you have all personally experienced, that of all the blessings which it has pleased Providence to allow us to cultivate, there is not one which breathes a purer fragrance, or bears an heavenlier aspect than education.
    • 1880, Mark Twain [pseudonym] (Samuel L[anghorne] Clemens), “Baker’s Blue-Jay Yarn”, in A Tramp Abroad; […], Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company; London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 39:
      So he flew down and got that acorn, and fetched it up and dropped it in, and was just tilting his head back, with the heavenliest smile on his face, when all of a sudden he was paralyzed into a listening attitude and that smile faded gradually out of his countenance like breath off’n a razor, and the queerest look of surprise took its place.
    • 1987, Gary Clark, “Mary's Prayer”, performed by Danny Wilson:
      Everything is wonderful / Being here is heavenly

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Adverb

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heavenly (comparative more heavenly, superlative most heavenly)

  1. In a manner like that of heaven; by the influence or agency of heaven; divinely, miraculously.
  2. To a degree such as to elicit great pleasure.
    • 2003, Ruben Soto, Fiesta for the Hispanic Soul, page 136:
      Then, we taste the refried beans and the rice, and they are so heavenly delicious.

Derived terms

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