unworthy

[ uhn-wur-thee ]

/ ʌnˈwɜr ði /

adjective, un·wor·thi·er, un·wor·thi·est.

not worthy; lacking worth or excellence.

beneath the dignity (usually followed by of): behavior unworthy of a king.

of a kind not worthy (often followed by of).

not of adequate merit or character.

not commendable or creditable.

not deserving.

noun, plural un·wor·thies.

an unworthy person.

Words nearby unworthy

unwitty, unwonted, unworkable, unworldly, unworried, unworthy, unwound, unwrap, unwreathe, unwrinkle, unwritten

Origin of unworthy

Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; see origin at un-¹, worthy

SYNONYMS FOR unworthy

3, 4 unseemly, unfit, unsuitable, ignoble.

ANTONYMS FOR unworthy

1 deserving, admirable, commendable.

OTHER WORDS FROM unworthy

un·wor·thi·ly, adverbun·wor·thi·ness, nounself-un·wor·thi·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for unworthily

Many hundreds of years ago Vaux Abbey was a monastery, sacred to the saint whose name I unworthily bear.
A Monk of Cruta|E. Phillips Oppenheim
Your highness, I have been most unworthily deceived since day before yesterday, by a miserable wretch who has taken your name.
A Romance of the West Indies|Eugne Sue
By accident I learned, or, rather, guessed—this—this strange insult to which you are so unworthily exposed.
My Novel, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
I realized how unworthily I had acted, how deeply I loved Miles, and how lonely and empty my life would be without him.
Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1896 to 1901|Lucy Maud Montgomery

Some of them seconded his efforts, but far more regarded them with violent and often unworthily expressed dislike.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 4|Various

British Dictionary definitions for unworthily

unworthy

/ (ʌnˈwɜːðɪ) /

adjective

(often foll by of) not deserving or worthy

(often foll by of) beneath the level considered befitting (to)that remark is unworthy of you

lacking merit or value

(of treatment) not warranted or deserved

Derived forms of unworthy

unworthily, adverbunworthiness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012