ungodly

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + godly.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The OED and Etymonline compare similar formations in other Germanic languages, such as Middle Dutch ongodelijc and Middle High German ungötlich.^[2][4] Godly is from god and -ly.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of persons, not fearing or revering God, impious; and of actions, not in accordance with the law of God: both in 1526, in Tyndale's translation of the New Testament.^[2] Etymonline dates the word to the late 14th century,^[4] but the Middle English ungodli of Gower and the Romaunt of the Rose, meaning wicked or evil, is filed in the OED under ungoodly.^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

The word was common in the Bible translations, and Johnson (1755) defined it as wicked and negligent of God and his laws, quoting Milton's the ungodly for the wicked as a group.^[9][2] From 1746 it was also used of the stomach, for gluttonous or greedy,^[2] and in West Yorkshire dialect for insatiable or squeamish, of the stomach or entrails.^[10] The colloquial sense "outrageous, dreadful" is recorded by 1840 in an ungodly hour according to Etymonline, which compares unearthly;^[4] the OED's and Green's first record is in R. L. Stevenson's Olalla (1887).^[2][11] The adverb, in an ungodly way, was common in the 16th century;^[2] its intensive sense "extremely" is colloquial, chiefly American.^[3][12][11]

Timeline

• 1526 – of persons, irreligious, impious, wicked; of actions, against the law of God; also an adverb.^[2]
• 1746 – of the stomach, gluttonous, greedy.^[2][3]
• 1840 – outrageous, dreadful, in ungodly hour.^[4] The OED's first record is from 1887.^[2]
• 1985 – adverb, extremely, in American slang.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not fearing or revering God; impious, irreligious.^[12][2][13]
2. Wicked or sinful; also, as a noun with the, wicked people as a group: the ungodly and the righteous.^[13][12][9]
3. (informal) Outrageous or unreasonable, especially in an ungodly hour, a very early or very late time: The alarm went off at an ungodly hour.^[13][12][2]

Adverb

1. (dialectal or informal) Extremely: It was ungodly cold.^[12][3][11]

Word family

• ungodliness

Related words

• godly
• godless
• unearthly
• ungoodly

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
8. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
9. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
11. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
12. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
13. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins