hallowed

IPA/ˈhæləʊd/
KK[hˈælod]IPA/ˈhæləʊd/

hallowed — adjective

  • hallowedpositive
  • more hallowedcomparative
  • most hallowedsuperlative

1. treated with deep admiration and a sense of formal honour, usually because the t

1.adjectiveC2
Definition

treated with deep admiration and a sense of formal honour, usually because the thing in question has stood for a very long time or carries strong cultural weight — for example, an ancient university tradition, a sports stadium with decades of history, or a long-established legal principle.

Example

Wimbledon's centre court is one of the most hallowed grounds in world tennis.

attributive: hallowed + place noun (sports tradition)

Yara wrote her thesis on the hallowed tradition of debate at Oxford colleges.

Common collocations
  • hallowed ground
  • hallowed halls
  • hallowed tradition
  • hallowed principle
  • hallowed name
Synonyms
  • venerable

    stresses age and the respect owed to age; slightly less ceremonial

  • revered

    broader; the respect can come from achievement alone, not just age

  • time-honoured

    highlights long-standing custom or practice rather than a place

Antonyms
  • ordinary

    neutral opposite — no special status or respect attached

Grammar Patterns

hallowed + noun

Usage Note

Almost always attributive (before a noun); rarely used predicatively after 'be'. Frequently modifies nouns for places, traditions, institutions, or principles — not ordinary people or everyday objects.

Common Mistakes

The old chair in my room is hallowed.
The chair where Lincoln once sat is hallowed in our town's history.
'hallowed' needs broad cultural or historical weight, not just personal sentiment.
This stadium is very hallowed.
This is one of football's most hallowed stadiums.
prefer the attributive form before a noun rather than a predicative 'is hallowed'.

2. formally set apart as belonging to God or a religion, usually through a blessing

2.adjectiveC2
Definition

formally set apart as belonging to God or a religion, usually through a blessing or a religious ceremony — said of places of worship, burial grounds, objects used in worship, or the name of a deity in prayer.

Example

The old chapel sits on hallowed ground that was blessed centuries ago.

fixed collocation: hallowed ground (religious / burial)

The prayer begins, 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.'

fossilised liturgical use: hallowed be + noun

Common collocations
  • hallowed ground
  • hallowed soil
  • hallowed be thy name
  • hallowed place
Synonyms
  • consecrated

    interchangeable in religious use; slightly more technical / liturgical

  • sanctified

    emphasises the process of being made holy, often morally as well as ritually

  • sacred

    broader; any subject can be sacred without a formal blessing

Antonyms
  • profane

    in the religious sense — outside religious dedication or treating it without respect

Grammar Patterns

hallowed + noun

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1 by religious context: a stadium can be hallowed (sense 1) without being holy, while a chapel or cemetery is hallowed (sense 2) through formal religious dedication. The fossilised phrase 'hallowed be thy/your name' from the Lord's Prayer is the most recognisable example.

Common Mistakes

The mosque became hallowed last week.
The mosque was hallowed in a ceremony last week.
sense 2 normally describes a state arising from a formal act, not a sudden change of feeling.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These five adjectives all attach high respect to their noun, but they differ in source and tone. 'Hallowed' is the most ceremonial — it suggests the noun has been lifted above ordinary status by long tradition or formal honour ('hallowed ground', 'hallowed halls'). 'Venerable' centres on age: a venerable scholar or building has earned respect mainly by lasting a long time. 'Revered' is the most general — the respect can come from achievement, character, or position, with no need for age or ritual. 'Sacred' belongs first to religion ('a sacred text') and then by extension to anything treated as untouchable ('a sacred promise'). 'Time-honoured' targets customs and practices specifically ('a time-honoured recipe'). Compare: a constitution can be hallowed (historic weight), venerable (long-lasting), revered (widely respected), or sacred (morally untouchable) — each emphasises a different reason for the same respect.

hallowed ↗venerable ↗reveredsacred ↗time-honoured ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • hallowed ground
  • hallowed halls
  • hallowed tradition
  • hallowed be thy name

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

An old past participle of the verb 'hallow', meaning to make holy. The verb comes from Old English 'halgian', a word formed from 'halig' (holy) — the same root that gives modern English 'holy' and 'health'. By the late medieval period 'hallowed' had narrowed to mostly religious settings (consecrated places, the wording of prayers). The broader modern use — 'hallowed tradition', 'hallowed ground' for a famous stadium — extends that older religious sense to anything treated with the same level of respect.