FromMiddle Englishworldly,worldlich,wordly(adjective), fromOld Englishworuldlīċ,worldlīċ,weoroldlīċ(“worldly; earthly; temporal; mundane; secular”), fromProto-Germanic*weraldilīkaz, equivalent toworld +-ly. Cognate withDutchwereldlijk(“worldly; secular”),German Low Germanweltlik(“worldly”),Germanweltlich(“worldly”),Danishverdslig(“worldly”),Swedishvärldslig(“worldly”),Icelandicveraldlegur(“worldly; secular”).
worldly (comparativeworldlierormoreworldly,superlativeworldliestormostworldly)
- Concerned withhuman orearthly matters,physical as opposed tospiritual.
- 1868,Louisa May Alcott,Little Women, Part Two, Chapter Twenty-four: Gossip,
- These attributes, in spite of poverty and the strict integrity which shut him out from the moreworldly successes, attracted to him many admirable persons, as naturally as sweet herbs draw bees, and as naturally he gave them the honey into which fifty years of hard experience had distilled no bitter drop.
- c. 1883-1896,Vyasa,Kisari Mohan Ganguli (translator),The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva, Section LXXXV,
- Thirst of enjoyment, therefore, should be given up. Indeed, true happiness belongeth to them that have cast off their thirst forworldly objects--a thirst which is difficult to be thrown off by the wicked and the sinful, which faileth not with the failing life, and which is truly the fatal disease of man.
1889,Leo Tolstoy, chapter VIII, inHuntington Smith, transl.,My Religion:The conviction that my personal,worldly life was something real and good constituted the misunderstanding, the obstacle, that prevented me from comprehending Jesus doctrine.
1910,G. K. Chesterton,What's Wrong with the World, Chapter 1, part 3:We have actually contrived to invent a new kind of hypocrite. The old hypocrite, Tartuffe or Pecksniff, was a man whose aims were reallyworldly and practical, while he pretended that they were religious. The new hypocrite is one whose aims are really religious, while he pretends that they areworldly and practical.
- Synonyms:material,mundane,sublunar
- Antonyms:otherworldly,spiritual
- Concerned withsecular rather thansacred matters.
- Synonyms:lay,profane
- Antonyms:clerical,religious,sacred
- Sophisticated, especially because ofsurfeit;versed in the ways of the world.
2016 January 24, Les Chappell, “TV: Review: The Simpsons (Classic), “Natural Born Kissers” (season nine, episode 25, originally aired 05/17/1998)”, inThe Onion AV Club[1]:Homer and Marge have to try to explain things to children who are tooworldly to fall for most excuses, the explanation trails off, and what could be a pleasant family outing to solve it all turns out to be yet another excuse for self-involvement when one public humiliation doesn’t outweigh the joys of getting busy in a windmill.
- Synonyms:sophisticated,street-smart
- Antonym:naive
concerned with the human, earthly or physical rather than spiritual
concerned with the secular rather than sacred
versed in the ways of the world
FromMiddle Englishworldly,worldliche,wordly(adverb), fromOld Englishworoldlīċe,weoroldlīċe; equivalent toworld +-ly(adverbial suffix).
worldly (comparativemoreworldly,superlativemostworldly)
- In a worldly manner.
- Synonyms:secularly,unspiritually,worldlily
FromOld Englishworuldlīċ,worldlīċ,weoroldlīċ, fromProto-West Germanic*weraldilīk, fromProto-Germanic*weraldilīkaz; equivalent toworld +-ly(adjectival suffix).
- wardly,warldely,warldly,werdely,werdly,werldly,wordeliche,wordlelich,wordli,wordlich,wordly,worldli,worldlich,worldliche,worlly,worly,wurdly,wurldly
- (Early Middle English)weordlich,weoruldlic,werldlic,worlich,worltlich
- IPA(key): /ˈwur(l)dliː/,/ˈwɛr(l)dliː/,/-lit͡ʃ/
worldly
- Of thematerialworld:
- Made of matter;material,physical.
- Noteternal;temporal.
- Subject todeath;mortal.
- Mundane,secular; unrelated to religion:
- Versed in the ways of the world.
- Impious,irreverent.
FromOld Englishworoldlīċe,weoroldlīċe; equivalent toworld +-ly(adverbial suffix).
- IPA(key): /ˈwur(l)dliː/,/ˈwɛr(l)dliː/,/-lit͡ʃ(ə)/
worldly
- In theway of thematerialworld.
- In amundane orsecular way.
