worthy

¹

[ wur-thee ]

adjective

, wor·thi·er, wor·thi·est.

1. having adequate or great merit, character, or value:

   a worthy successor.

2. of commendable excellence or merit; deserving of one's time, attention, interest, work, trouble, etc.:

   a book worthy of praise;

   a person worthy to lead.

   Synonyms: honorable, upright, exemplary, excellent, estimable, worthwhile, meritorious, deserving

noun

, plural wor·thies.

1. a person of eminent worth, merit, or position:

   The town worthies included two doctors.

-worthy

²

1. a combining form of worthy, occurring in adjectives that have the general sense “deserving of, fit for” ( blameworthy; newsworthy; noteworthy; trustworthy ), “capable of travel in or on” ( airworthy; roadworthy; seaworthy ), as specified by the first word of the compound.

worthy

/ ˈwɜːðɪ /

adjective

1. postpositive; often foll by of or an infinitive having sufficient merit or value (for something or someone specified); deserving
2. having worth, value, or merit

noun

1. facetious.
   a person of distinguished character, merit, or importance

Derived Forms

• ˈworthiness, noun
• ˈworthily, adverb

Other Words From

• wor·thi·ly adverb
• wor·thi·ness noun
• pre·wor·thi·ly adverb
• pre·wor·thy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of worthy¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; worth ¹, -y ¹

Example Sentences

However, more than 20 players on the ballot this year were probably worthy of being enshrined in Cooperstown.

From The Daily Beast

But the jokes flow at such a torrential pace that duds are soon forgotten; the best are even Spamalot-worthy.

From The Daily Beast

Dear Thief is worthy of the abused critical adjectives philosophical, atmospheric, and masterful.

From The Daily Beast

From Ann Coulter on Ebola to evangelicals on climate change, 2014 was full of award-worthy science denialism.

From The Daily Beast

These crimes of fashion proved the men were feminine and thus gay and therefore worthy of incarceration.

From The Daily Beast

El Imparcial maintained that he was worthy of being honoured as a 19th century conquering hero.

From Project Gutenberg

As far down as Mayence or Mentz (55 miles), the low banks and broad intervale continue, and there is little worthy of notice.

From Project Gutenberg

Noble ambition—worthy of a less ignoble cause—a better fate!

From Project Gutenberg

The worthy knight not being now alive to veto the project, a figure of him has been placed opposite the College in Edmund Street.

From Project Gutenberg

He is on the violin what Liszt is on the piano, and is the only artist worthy to be mentioned in the same breath with him.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• admirable
• decent
• deserving
• desirable
• excellent
• honest
• laudable
• noble
• reliable
• satisfying
• true
• trustworthy
• valuable
• worthwhile

Words That Use -worthy

What does -worthy mean?

The combining form –worthy is used like a suffix meaning “deserving of,” “fit for,” or “capable of travel in or on.” It is occasionally used in a variety of everyday and technical terms.

The form –worthy comes from Old English –wyrðe, meaning “worthy.”

Examples of -worthy

One example of a word that features the form –worthy is seaworthy, “constructed, outfitted, manned, and in all respects fitted for a voyage at sea.”

As we have seen, the suffix –worthy means “fit for,” in reference to the first part of the word. In this case, the first part of the word is sea–. Seaworthy literally means “fit for the sea.”

What are some words that use the combining form –worthy?

• cringeworthy
• newsworthy
• quoteworthy
• roadworthy
• trustworthy

What are some other forms that –worthy may be commonly confused with?

• -ward
• -ware
• -y

Break it down!

Given the meaning of the combining form –worthy, what does roadworthy mean?