Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

world-weary

American  
[wurld-weer-ee] / ˈwɜrldˌwɪər i /

adjective

  1. weary of the world; bored with existence, material pleasures, etc.


world-weary British  

adjective

  1. no longer finding pleasure in living; tired of the world

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of world-weary

First recorded in 1760–70

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.

See Examples For:

The world-weary consumer of news might reasonably wonder if we’re headed into another version of climate alarmism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026

Brian Cox is one of Hollywood’s go-to guys when they need to convey something hard-edged and world-weary.

From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2025

Have the world-weary shamus and the former Aztec capital lost their noir juju?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2025

For “Stress Positions,” the writer-director Theda Hammel shows her hand when a character says, in a world-weary voice-over, that the madness we’re about to witness “happened so long ago.”

From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2024

Yet the men who sat in them seemed so listless and world-weary that they might have been asleep.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember new words for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com