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:
Lugging suitcases across the border after packing up in Pakistan, Afghans are returning home with their worldly possessions but often lack one key item to restart their lives: an identity card.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Much like the toilet which kept playing up during the Artemis II mission, this research reminds us even astronauts operating in other worldly conditions are still human.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
“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
To Kelson, it’s a reminder to savor what time we still have — and this may be his final worldly act.
From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2026
As the auction progressed, and Mr. Clutter’s worldly domain dwindled, gradually vanished, Paul Helm, remembering the burial of the murdered family, said, “It’s like a second funeral.”
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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
Her best biographer, Richard B. Sewall, unpicked this legend in his 1974 study, from which a worldlier and more socialized figure emerged.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 14, 2017
Shallow as he was, nature was stronger than education, and he admired and accepted what many a wiser, worldlier man would have resented with anger or contempt.
From A Modern Cinderella Or, the Little Old Shoe and Other Stories by Alcott, Louisa May
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 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 Craik, Dinah Maria Mulock
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.
