worthy

[ wur-thee ]

/ ˈwɜr ði /

adjective, wor·thi·er, wor·thi·est.

having adequate or great merit, character, or value: a worthy successor.

of commendable excellence or merit; deserving: a book worthy of praise; a person worthy to lead.

noun, plural wor·thies.

a person of eminent worth, merit, or position: The town worthies included two doctors.

Nearby words

worthful, worthing, worthington, worthless, worthwhile, worthy, worthy of the name, wot, wotan, wotcher, wotton

Origin of worthy

Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at worth¹, -y¹

SYNONYMS FOR worthy

2 meritorious, worthwhile, estimable, excellent, exemplary, righteous, upright, honorable.

Related forms

wor·thi·ly, adverbwor·thi·ness, nounpre·wor·thi·ly, adverbpre·wor·thi·ness, noun

pre·wor·thy, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for worthily

You have worthily engaged in the holy work of God as becometh the saints.
Life of Luther|Gustav Just
Had that end been worthily sought, they would have deserved universal sympathy.
The Life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane, Tenth Earl of Dundonald, Vol. II|Thomas Lord Cochrane
The romantic history of the kingdom built up by Othman was worthily continued by his sons.
The Walls of Constantinople|Bernard Granville Baker
Erudition was worthily represented there, and there was every probability of justice.
A Popular History of France From The Earliest Times|Francois Pierre Guillaume Guizot

To write well and worthily of American things one need even more than elsewhere to be a master.
The Letters of Henry James (volume I)|Henry James

British Dictionary definitions for worthily

worthy

/ (ˈwɜːðɪ) /

adjective -thier or -thiest

(postpositive; often foll by of or an infinitive) having sufficient merit or value (for something or someone specified); deserving

having worth, value, or merit

noun plural -thies

often facetious a person of distinguished character, merit, or importance

Derived Forms

worthily, adverbworthiness, noun

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