worldly-wise

American  

[wurld-lee-wahyz] / ˈwɜrld liˈwaɪz /

adjective

1. wise as to the affairs of this world.

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Etymology

Origin of worldly-wise

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

Bellamy version 2.0 may well be more worldly-wise, more focused, more able to channel the passion for the game and his country that has always run deep.

From BBC • Sep. 7, 2024

In the end, this ragtag band finally acquires the sutra scrolls from a surprisingly worldly-wise Buddha and achieves a kind of sainthood for themselves.

From Washington Post • Mar. 3, 2021

I loved Ferrell first and foremost because she looked and sounded like my people — red-haired and rotund, but worldly-wise and dry rather than jolly.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 13, 2020

McGuane’s small-time lawyers and bank managers, his car dealers and crooks and confirmed bachelors, are more worldly-wise — and consequently more world-weary — than Taylor’s Memphis society boys.

From New York Times • Apr. 10, 2018

My long tramp through the mud left me tuckered out and just too worldly-wise to go along with the teen scene.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver