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 worthy effort and before you jump to thinking it’s a reaction to Kirk, I’ll point out that 10 years ago, California’s first partner, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, made a documentary about the crisis of connection and identity facing young men, “The Mask You Live In.”

From Los Angeles Times

There’s the belief that what you’re about to do is good and worthy.

From Salon

Rashee Rice is a huge part of their offensive scheme and, without Worthy, they don't have any deep threat either so, I hate to say it, but I really struggle to see what they'll be able to do.

From BBC

Rashee Rice is suspended for their first six games and Xavier Worthy suffered a shoulder injury as he and Travis Kelce ran into each other in last week's defeat by the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil.

From BBC

It’s a worthy goal and an issue on which there’s split opinion in the GOP.

From Slate

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.”