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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

  • world-weariness noun

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.

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

But the movie’s frenetic opening stretch loosens into something shaggier when Steely Dan’s 1972 world-weary track “Dirty Work” comes in.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025

Brody often expresses a world-weary charm about him that makes him pull focus.

From Salon • Feb. 27, 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

“Well, I prefer to think of myself as a legend, but I suppose ‘guide’ will do,” said a deep, world-weary voice from the dark.

From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins

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.