worthy

¹

[wur-thee]

adjective

worthier, worthiest 

1. having adequate or great merit, character, or value.

   a worthy successor.

2. of commendable excellence or merit; deserving of one's time, attention, interest, work, trouble, etc..

   a book worthy of praise;

   a person worthy to lead.

   Synonyms: honorable, upright, exemplary, excellent, estimable, worthwhile, meritorious, deserving

noun

plural

worthies 

1. a person of eminent worth, merit, or position.

   The town worthies included two doctors.

-worthy

²

1. a combining form of worthy, occurring in adjectives that have the general sense “deserving of, fit for” (blameworthy; newsworthy; noteworthy; trustworthy ), “capable of travel in or on” (airworthy; roadworthy; seaworthy ), as specified by the first word of the compound.

worthy

/ ˈwɜːðɪ /

adjective

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

2. having worth, value, or merit

noun

1. facetious,  a person of distinguished character, merit, or importance

Other Word Forms

• worthily adverb
• worthiness noun
• preworthily adverb
• preworthy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of worthy¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; worth ¹, -y ¹

Example Sentences

It’s a stance that the First Presidency, the Church’s highest officials, also affirmed, saying that being undocumented should not itself prevent “an otherwise worthy Church member” from entering the temple or being ordained to priesthood, and calling upon congregation members to avoid being judgmental.

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If bank deposits are a public good worthy of protectionism, banks shouldn’t be allowed to earn excess profits off of them.

Read more on MarketWatch

The subject matter is worthy of serious dramatic interrogation, and there’s a good movie in here someplace.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Like private equity, investments are illiquid and the competition to find worthy borrowers is stiff.

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Cincinnati’s surge into the playoffs is a remarkable accomplishment worthy of recognition.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• admirable 
• decent 
• deserving 
• desirable 
• excellent 
• honest 
• laudable 
• noble 
• reliable 
• satisfying www.thesaurus.com
• true 
• trustworthy 
• valuable 
• worthwhile 

When To Use

What does -worthy mean?

The combining form -worthy is used like a suffix meaning “deserving of,” "fit for," or "capable of travel in or on." It is occasionally used in a variety of everyday and technical terms.The form -worthy comes from Old English -wyrðe, meaning “worthy.”