worthy
adjective
having adequate or great merit, character, or value.
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worthy
1 American
[wur-thee]
/ ˈwɜr ði /
adjective
-
worthier,
comparative
-
worthiest
superlative
-
having adequate or great merit, character, or value.
a worthy successor.
-
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
-
worthies
plural
-worthy
2
American
worthy
British
/ ˈwɜːðɪ /
adjective
-
(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
Usage
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.”
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of worthy
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; see origin at worth 1, -y 1
Explanation
Use the adjective worthy to describe the good causes to which you donate a little money each year. Their admirable qualities are what make them worthy. Something that deserves respect is worthy, whether it's a charity, a hard working tennis opponent, or a struggle to overcome a disability. If it's worth your admiration or has some inherent value, it's worthy. The word has been around since the thirteenth century, and it was especially common in the 1300's to use worthy as a noun meaning "person of merit."
Vocabulary lists containing worthy
Thumbs Up: Synonyms for "Good"
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 4
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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:
Groomed for stardom in the 1950s as a “luminous blond leading lady,” she found “few vehicles worthy of her talents,” film critic Leonard Maltin wrote in his “Movie Encyclopedia.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
A portion of the study focused specifically on ME/CFS and highlighted LAG3 as one gene worthy of further investigation.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
Craig Bellamy says he is "hurting" after admitting Denmark were worthy winners against his Wales side in Copenhagen.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
He’s certainly a worthy role model but, his age aside, not even Buffett could keep being like himself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Four miles after leaving Cloud Pond, I came to a tiny stream, barely worthy of the term—really just a slick of moist mud.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Her childhood gave her ample evidence that finding a man was not the answer to the riddle of a woman’s life, and the last thing she envisioned for herself was a Disney -worthy fairy tale.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 17, 2018
I wish I could muster up some -worthy contrarianism, but I’m right there with those guys.
From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2013
They are not, as you will imagine, at all like the pictures in the Shakspeare Gallery: no; they are -worthy of Dryden.
From The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford — Volume 4 by Horace Walpole
Mr. Bonds is as friendly as a whistling postman and, more than that, a baseball genius, according to testimonies from such worthies as Don Mattingly and Dusty Baker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
On the face of it, little connects the mutton-chopped worthies who built places like Saltaire and Bournville with the tech bros of Silicon Valley.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2022
The worthies of Westeros vow their loyalty to Rhaenyra as royal successor.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2022
Other worthies such as Adam and the Ants and James Ingram were shut down in this category.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 2, 2022
The master and his sons laughed as he wiped his face, but the twenty dollars went to new boots and a brocade coat like he’d seen some worthies wear in D.C.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
"Nothing is worthier than human life, specifically young life."
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2025
The irony is that Pacino did several worthier turns after his Oscar win: “The Insider,” “Donnie Brasco,” even “Glengarry Glen Ross” from the same year, 1992, is better: the definitive Ricky Roma.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2025
Extensive development work is being conducted to give old clothes and textiles a worthier end.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2024
Instead, she was something far worthier: “a layperson’s historian” who made the past interesting.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 22, 2022
In the meantime, Harry Potter’s well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on a worthier candidate.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
Among his worthiest financial prescriptions is to marry well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
However while Musk and Altman have been focused on each trying to prove themselves the worthiest custodians of AI in court, their rivals have raced ahead.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
From the truth about her mysterious marriage to suicidal thoughts, a kiss with Tupac and the joys of ayahuasca, here are the worthiest revelations from “Worthy.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2023
It is why Hall was deemed the worthiest of Olympic champions.
From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2022
Though it was a forbidden love, still he felt it to be the worthiest thing about him, and the purest, and the deepest.
From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks
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.
