Simple, unpretentious, and comfortable like home, or in American English, unattractive or plain in appearance.
From 'home' plus '-ly' suffix. Originally meant 'resembling home' in a positive sense, but the American usage shifted the meaning toward 'plain' or 'unattractive' by the 1700s, creating a famous word with opposite meanings.
This is one of English's most famous 'contronyms'—in British English it's a genuine compliment meaning cozy, while in American English it's an insult about appearance, and the difference almost caused diplomatic confusion in the 1900s.
Historically applied asymmetrically to women as criticism of appearance while men described as 'homely' faced no beauty standards. The word conflates domestic virtue with physical unattractiveness, disproportionately burdening women.
Use neutrally for unpretentious environments or simple aesthetics. Avoid as appearance descriptor for people; prefer specific, non-gendered language.
["unpretentious","simple","modest","comfortable"]
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.