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Synonyms

worthy

1 American  
[wur-thee] / ˈwɜr ði /

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 American  

  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 British  
/ 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

"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

noun

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

"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

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

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

Etymology

Origin of worthy

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

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.

Catcher Cashel Dugger did an acting job worthy of an Academy Award throwing the ball hard to Reddemman on the mound, who then got the runner on third leaving the bag.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

The emotion-tossed characters in this book take a vexingly long time to sort out their feelings and make choices, but the challenging narrative rewards persistent readers with a worthy finale.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Seo’s Janet is as feisty as she is loyal, making it easy to root for her and her quickly budding romance with McKnight’s worthy Alex.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

Byrne, on the other hand, gives a worthy performance that saves “Tow” from its own pedantic trappings and functions as a similarly fed-up complement to her character in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.”

From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026

Everything’s so hip and elegant here, and no normal conversation feels worthy.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

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.