adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of godly
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English godlīc; God + -ly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Melissa Gordon struggled to reconcile the godly woman she thought she knew with the details now emerging.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026
"He was the most godly, humane, kind, gracious human being I think I've ever met," Alex Ryvchin of the Executive Council of Australia Jewry, told reporters at Bondi on Monday morning.
From BBC • Dec. 15, 2025
Both women are single, but present themselves much like "before" images of the tradwife: a glamorous young woman who will someday be snatched up by a godly provider and find fulfillment as a compliant housewife.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2025
The subcontinent’s traditions of amateur tussling date back to ancient times—back to the 5th century B.C.—and key figures from Indian epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata are depicted as having godly wrestling skill.
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2023
But even his godly powers were too slow.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.