ENGLISH
REFERENCE

heavenly

adj. · adv.
US //ˈhɛvənɫi// UK //hˈɛvənli// heav·en·ly
  1. 1 religious/divine (adj.)
    B1 Intermediate Religion

    related to heaven or God in a religious way.

    pertaining to the dwelling place of the divine or the kingdom of God in a theological context.

    Example

    The choir sang about heavenly peace during the holiday service.

    Example

    The fresco depicts a heavenly host of angels surrounding the central figure, rendered in vibrant gold leaf to suggest divine radiance.

  2. 2 wonderful/beautiful (adj.)
    B1 Intermediate

    extremely pleasant, beautiful, or delicious.

    sublimely beautiful, pleasurable, or excellent; used as an intensive evaluative adjective.

    Example

    This chocolate cake is absolutely heavenly.

    Example

    After a week of hiking in the rain, the warm bath and clean sheets felt truly heavenly.

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  1. 3 astronomical (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Literary Science

    related to the sky, stars, or planets.

    relating to the physical heavens or the sky as an astronomical realm.

    Example

    The telescope allows us to see heavenly bodies like distant planets.

    Example

    Ancient navigators relied on the movement of heavenly bodies to determine their position across the open sea.

  2. 4 divinely (adv.)
    C2 Proficiency Literary Archaic

    in a way that seems like it comes from heaven or God.

    in a manner suggesting divine influence or origin.

    Example

    The music sounded heavenly sweet in the quiet night.

    Example

    The poet described a landscape heavenly blessed by the morning light, untouched by the industrial smoke of the city.

Origin

From Middle English hevenely, hevenly, from Old English heofonlīċ (“heavenly, celestial; chaste”); equivalent to heaven + -ly.

Idioms1 entry

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