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:
He later outfitted his island escape with a Balinese-style villa and bungalows, creating a private getaway worthy of a Hollywood mogul.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
Junqueira believes an overhead kick scored by Joao Pedro, then 17, against Cruzeiro in May 2019 helped convince decision-makers he was an exceptional talent worthy of the move.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
The U.S. should set a national production target worthy of our history: 200,000 tons of American magnesium annually by 2030, roughly the level reached in 1943.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Here you’ll find some of our worthy Los Angeles Times reader selections.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
This function makes art especially significant and, hence, worthy of our attention.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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
After meeting the local worthies and unveiling plaques on visits, he always seems relieved to head into the crowds outside.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2024
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
An uncomplicated, comfort-zone paean to the Irish communist Jimmy Gralton, whose brand of free-thinking is too much for the local worthies in 1930s Ireland.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 17, 2019
‘Very ridiculous of you, Frodo! But I wish I had been there to see. The worthies of Bree will be discussing it a hundred years hence.’
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
They almost certainly could have been put to work on worthier causes.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2025
Extensive development work is being conducted to give old clothes and textiles a worthier end.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2024
It’s become a cliché to praise a filmmaker for loving his characters, as if doing so made said characters worthier of our interest, or if humanism were an inherent artistic virtue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
“Nobody ever asks,” Mr. Eisenberg wrote, “whether his money should go to worthier causes.”
From Washington Post ● Oct. 22, 2022
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
Cruz is the worthiest, but I’ll give the slight edge to Moore, who hasn’t been nominated since winning the lead actress Oscar for “Still Alice” nearly a decade ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2024
Wild-card berths are not necessarily going to the worthiest teams this year, but the ones whose outbreaks were fortuitously timed.
From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 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.
