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
Related Words
See earthly.
Other Word Forms
- preworldliness noun
- preworldly adjective
- superworldliness noun
- superworldly adjective
- worldliness noun
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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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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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.
“I was in a period of mourning and I didn’t want to give myself worldly pleasures because I thought it would make me feel icky or sad.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
There are still financial tasks that have to be done for you after your death, like filing your last tax return and cleaning up your worldly possessions.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 14, 2026
“The babies’ breathing,” he writes, “was impetuous, nervous, uneven, but the mothers’ slow worldly sighs, forceful and vaguely wise, got to me, straight to the heart.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025
The splendor of the pieces stunned even worldly observers like Albrecht Durer, the Renaissance master.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 24, 2025
“I guess I couldn’t have stayed around so long if I hadn’t. He is not smart in a worldly sense but he’s a good man. Maybe the best man I have ever known.”
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
