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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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.
See Examples For:
Maria soon after learns that her father, from whom she has been estranged for decades, has been murdered in an Alabama beach town, leaving her his house and worldly goods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
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
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
She was a practical, worldly, diffident woman, and her modem, pragmatic character was a serious obstacle to telepathy.
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
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
It’s the point of lots of teen shows, and lots of the actual lives of teens, this desire to be older, freer, smarter, worldlier.
From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2019
The American, loosed in the streets of Paris by night, however sees in himself another and a worldlier image.
From Europe After 8:15 by Thomas H. Benton
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
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
A belly laugh at Nero's Rome delivered by the worldliest Roman of them all.
From Time Magazine Archive
And even the worldliest of men, in their low code of honor, count the thing base and ignoble.
From Christian's Mistake by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik
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.
