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.
(postpositive; often foll by of or an infinitive) having sufficient merit or value (for something or someone specified); deserving
having worth, value, or merit
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.”
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; see origin at worth 1, -y 1
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."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The comparisons to Messi are inevitable and the stats suggest Lamine Yamal is on his way to becoming a worthy heir to the player many consider the greatest ever.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Odysseus is obsessed with honor, and Mr. Nolan has likewise done everything in his considerable power to pay worthy cinematic tribute to one of our foundational texts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
That could have been Trout’s spot this summer: a worthy honor for a three-time most valuable player, a local hero feted on the national stage the Angels have failed to provide him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Right now, any decision on interest rates, including no change, is worthy of a press conference.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
I do not understand why Gaea would find any of these demigods worthy of sacrifice.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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 Walpole, Horace
He seems energised when he is shaking hands and talking to the public, sometimes appearing to enjoy that more than meeting the long lines of civic worthies on official visits.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2023
The answer, my worthies, is that it is nowhere to be found in the Constitution.
From Salon ● May 14, 2022
Other worthies such as Adam and the Ants and James Ingram were shut down in this category.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 2, 2022
When John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on 22 November 1963, he was on his way to deliver a speech to the assembled worthies of the city.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 25, 2018
Around about him everywhere lay the dead worthies of Boston.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
Is not pole position – generally the fastest racing of the weekend – worthier of a point than fastest race lap, which is purely tactical?
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2024
Extensive development work is being conducted to give old clothes and textiles a worthier end.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2024
His recent release from an Iranian prison is worthier of celebration — and a greater boon to cinema — than anything or anyone in this year’s Oscar race.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
Through the miracle of technology, transhumanists believe that the human species must orchestrate its obsolescence so that some worthier, digitized human form might emerge, phoenix-like from its shadow.
From Slate ● Jan. 26, 2023
Your Honor, for the sake of this boy and myself, I wish I could bring to this Court evidence of a morally worthier nature.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
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
“We insist on the need to bring about the necessary corrections in the legal system, and we will allow for an opportunity to achieve them with a broad consensus. That’s the worthiest goal there is.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 27, 2023
CHANG: Almodóvar may have been the race’s token international nominee, but his exquisitely crafted “Talk to Her” ensured he was also the worthiest of the lot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2023
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.
