A homely person.

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Patrick87

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Hi there,

I want to say that I rather like to stay at home than compared with doing a lot of outdoor activities. Is it correct to describe me as a homely person. I know that homely can sometimes have a negative connotation. However, I only want to say that I like beeing at home. I don't think that you can call me a domestic person. That sound strange and I would use domestic rather together with animals. Pets are domestic animals. I can't really think of another word which would be appropriate in the aforementioned case. Can you?

Kind regards,
Patrick
 

SoothingDave

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"Homely" is a nice way of saying someone is not very attractive physically.

You can say that you prefer to stay at home. I can't think of a particular word to describe that.
 

Patrick87

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Thank you for the replies. Okay. I know that homely has this negative meaning of unattractiveness as well. I looked the word up in thefreedictionary.

I found (apart from the mentioned meaning):
"(of a person) a. Brit warm and domesticated in manner or appearance"

Does this meaning apply to British English only or is it completly outdated?

And with respect to homebody: Does this word have an negative connotation as well or is it rather a descriptive one?

Can you say: "I prefer to stay at home, because I am rather a homebody." It sounds a bit redundant, doesn't it?

What about domesticated? Does it apply to animals only?
 

Hedwig

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I've got the impression that homely is more positive in BrE than in AmE.

For instance, a homely place seems to be nice and cosy in BrE while Americans would use the word homey for that, and apply homely to something that is plain or unsophisticated. Is this right?
 

SoothingDave

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I, too, saw the other definitions given for the word. I don't think I would use the word for any but the "ugly" meaning.
 
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