worldly
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to this world as contrasted with heaven, spiritual life, etc.; earthly; mundane.
- Synonyms:
- temporal
- Antonyms:
- spiritual
-
experienced; knowing; sophisticated.
the benefits of his worldly wisdom.
- Synonyms:
- cosmopolitan, urbane
-
devoted to, directed toward, or connected with the affairs, interests, or pleasures of this world.
-
of or relating to the people or laity; secular; neither ecclesiastical nor religious.
-
Obsolete. of, relating to, or existing on earth.
adverb
adjective
-
not spiritual; mundane or temporal
-
Also: worldly-minded. absorbed in or concerned with material things or matters that are immediately relevant
-
Also: worldly-wise. versed in the ways of the world; sophisticated
-
archaic existing on or relating to the earth
-
obsolete secular; lay
adverb
Synonym Usage
See earthly.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of worldly
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English wor(u)ldlīc. See world, -ly
Explanation
You can use the adjective worldly to describe people who have knowledge of many topics or experience in many areas. You don't have to travel the globe to be worldly; reading and talking about many things with knowledge and enthusiasm is worldly too. While worldly often describes individuals who are sophisticated and well-rounded in education, travel, and experiences, it's also used for people who are rooted in the world or focused on physical and material things around them, rather than on spiritual matters. An old expression in religion is "She was too heavenly minded for worldly good," and it describes those who think about the spiritual or supernatural so much that they aren't worldly enough to get anything done.
Vocabulary lists containing worldly
Excerpt from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
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Americanized
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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.
See Examples For:
But, police say, thieves who arrived at the church under the cover of darkness last month likely saw the artwork as representing something more worldly: quick cash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Mr. Kidd contends that the dons’ wartime service accounted for their worldly cachet and influence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
She says she is at peace with the fact all her worldly possessions fit in a bedroom that is no more than 12ft long, by eight feet wide.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Besides the city's highbrow cultural offerings, its status as a centre of congress and diplomacy also helps attract a wealthy and worldly clientele.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
In this school Alba learned to eat boiled vegetables and burnt rice, to withstand the freezing courtyard, sing hymns, and give up worldly vanities except those in the realm of sports.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
In retrospect, Robert Freeman’s autumnal, artfully distorted photograph was an entirely apt image for a worldlier, darker, more grown-up Beatles record.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Mirella, though, is worldlier than that, and eagerly strikes up a friendship with Evalisse.
From New York Times ● May 23, 2024
Deep learning -- machine learning's wiser and worldlier relative -- can digest larger quantities of information to make more nuanced decisions.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 4, 2024
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll talked at length on Tuesday about how Lynch, at 33, seems like a much worldlier, wiser, and mature person than in his previous incarnation.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 24, 2019
Scholarius would intrust the State to the Holy Virgin; but Constantine, with a worldlier inspiration, adheres to the craft held by Kings immemorially.
From The Prince of India — Volume 01 by Lewis Wallace
Tell her that if you’re right about that, at the time you were dealing with shame and fear, and felt your older sister was the worldliest person you could turn to.
From Slate ● May 2, 2021
And there’s no denying that when she sings, from a wildly diverse song list, she’s as polished and inventive as the worldliest cabaret artist.
From New York Times ● Apr. 30, 2010
Great Morning is a tribute from the worldliest of the artistic Sitwells to the most Arcadian period that any Englishman can remember: the last years of the peace that ended in August 1914.
From Time Magazine Archive
A bawdy belly laugh at Nero's Rome delivered by the worldliest Roman of them all and translated with unexpurgated wit by Classicist William Arrowsmith.
From Time Magazine Archive
Under the sway, in old Japan, Of silent cryptic trees, There is a shrine the worldliest Would near with bended knees.
From Nirvana Days by Cale Young Rice
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
