worthy
1 Americanadjective
-
having adequate or great merit, character, or value.
a worthy successor.
-
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
worthiesadjective
-
(postpositive; often foll by of or an infinitive) having sufficient merit or value (for something or someone specified); deserving
-
having worth, value, or merit
noun
Usage
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.”
Other Word Forms
- preworthily adverb
- preworthy adjective
- worthily adverb
- worthiness noun
Etymology
Origin of worthy
Explanation
Use the adjective worthy to describe the good causes to which you donate a little money each year. Their admirable qualities are what make them worthy. Something that deserves respect is worthy, whether it's a charity, a hard working tennis opponent, or a struggle to overcome a disability. If it's worth your admiration or has some inherent value, it's worthy. The word has been around since the thirteenth century, and it was especially common in the 1300's to use worthy as a noun meaning "person of merit."
Vocabulary lists containing worthy
Thumbs Up: Synonyms for "Good"
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 4
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"Do Family Meals Matter?" and "Fish Cheeks"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“These are all worthy goals,” the committee wrote, “But they are not what makes a university a university.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
The chart, posted on X last week by Jay Kaeppel, senior market analyst at Sentimentrader, is therefore worthy of note.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026
John Stanton, Mariners CEO, who helped give the bat-breaking tug, credited Suzuki's "meticulous in his preparation and play" and told the crowd that he was "certainly worthy of this everlasting recognition".
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
Witnessing a solar eclipse from space was a spectacle worthy of science fiction, as pilot Glover put it.
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
This function makes art especially significant and, hence, worthy of our attention.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
