hale

1 of 2

adjective

ˈhāl How to pronounce hale (audio)
Synonyms of halenext
: free from defect, disease, or infirmity : sound
also : retaining exceptional health and vigor
a hale and hearty old man

hale

2 of 2

verb

haled; haling

transitive verb

1
: haul, pull
2
: to compel to go
haled her into court

Synonyms

Adjective

Verb

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 
Choose the Right Synonym for hale

healthy, sound, wholesome, robust, hale, well mean enjoying or indicative of good health.

healthy implies full strength and vigor as well as freedom from signs of disease.

a healthy family

sound emphasizes the absence of disease, weakness, or malfunction.

a sound heart

wholesome implies appearance and behavior indicating soundness and balance.

a face with a wholesome glow

robust implies the opposite of all that is delicate or sickly.

a lively, robust little boy

hale applies particularly to robustness in old age.

still hale at the age of eighty

well implies merely freedom from disease or illness.

she has never been a well person

Examples of hale in a Sentence

Adjective still hale and strong at 80, often outdoing his younger golfing buddies Verb the fishermen haled the huge net onto the deck of the ship
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
Oscar, still hale and hearty, celebrated his 15th birthday in July of 2022. —Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 29 Oct. 2022 The symphony sounds remarkably hale under Payare’s baton, and as the movement grew, so did the power and immediacy of the orchestra, always bringing balance and poise back to the beloved processional of the main melody. —Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Nov. 2022
Verb
Even though no one is being haled into court, parents still need to behave civilly. —Paul Sullivan, New York Times, 8 May 2020 Then an employer who attempts union-busting could be haled into court and face an injunction against demoting or firing union organizers, followed by a trial and possibly heavy damages. —Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, 28 June 2018 See all Example Sentences for hale 

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

partly from Middle English (northern) hale, from Old English hāl; partly from Middle English hail, from Old Norse heill — more at whole

Verb

Middle English halen, from Anglo-French haler, aler — more at haul

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hale was in the 13th century

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Dictionary Entries Near hale

haldu

hale

Hale

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Hale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hale. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

hale

1 of 2 adjective
ˈhā(ə)l How to pronounce hale (audio)
: sound entry 1 sense 1a, healthy
grandmother was still hale and hearty at eighty

hale

2 of 2 verb
haled; haling
1
: haul entry 1 sense 1, pull
2
: to force to go
haled them into court
Etymology

Adjective

partly from Middle English hale "healthy, unhurt," from Old English hāl (same meaning) and partly from Middle English hail (an interjection of approval or greeting), derived from early Norse heill "healthy" — related to hail entry 3, health, wassail, whole

Verb

Middle English halen "to pull," from early French haler (same meaning); of Germanic origin — related to haul

Biographical Definition

Hale 1 of 4

biographical name (1)

ˈhāl How to pronounce Hale (audio)
Edward Everett 1822–1909 American Unitarian clergyman and writer

Hale

2 of 4

biographical name (2)

George Ellery 1868–1938 American astronomer

Hale

3 of 4

biographical name (3)

Sir Matthew 1609–1676 English jurist

Hale

4 of 4

biographical name (4)

Nathan 1755–1776 American Revolutionary hero

More from Merriam-Webster on hale

Nglish: Translation of hale for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of hale for Arabic Speakers

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
little chihuahua dressing like a turkey for thanksgiving
Is That Gratitude or Attitude? A Thanksgiving Quiz Decide which words express gratitude and which gi...