worldly means concerned with human or earthly matters, physical as opposed to spiritual. It carries an Arena rating of 1606, earned across 17 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, worldly ranks #879 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,759 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #8,769 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #9,533 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
worldly is pronounced /ˈwɜː(ɹ)ldli/.
Why “worldly” is a great word
Concerned with secular, material, or sophisticated human affairs rather than with spiritual or religious matters. From Middle English worldly, worldlich, from Old English woruldlīċ, weoroldlīċ ("worldly, earthly, temporal, secular"), from Proto-Germanic *weraldilīkaz, equivalent to world + the adjectival suffix -ly. Cognate with German weltlich and Swedish världslig. Unlike "spiritual" (which turns inward toward the soul and the unseen) or "naive" (which stumbles wide-eyed through experience, unmarked and untaught), worldly denotes a seasoned immersion in the human spectacle. It is the diplomat who knows which wine loosens which tongue, the traveler who has learned that every border crossing demands its own particular bribe, and the calculating silence that follows a loaded remark in a diplomatic salon. It carries the faint but persistent smell of train stations, the particular fatigue of having witnessed too many repetitions of the same folly, and the melancholy recognition that sophistication is simply disappointment, organized.
Etymology
From Middle English worldly, worldlich, wordly (adjective), from Old English woruldlīċ, worldlīċ, weoroldlīċ (“worldly; earthly; temporal; mundane; secular”), from Proto-Germanic *weraldilīkaz, equivalent to world + -ly. Cognate with Dutch wereldlijk (“worldly; secular”), German Low German weltlik (“worldly”), German weltlich (“worldly”), Danish verdslig (“worldly”), Swedish världslig (“worldly”), Icelandic veraldlegur (“worldly; secular”).
adj
- Concerned with human or earthly matters, physical as opposed to spiritual.
- Concerned with secular rather than sacred matters.
- Sophisticated, especially because of surfeit; versed in the ways of the world.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- worldish 74% match — Of, belonging to, or characteristic the world; worldly. vs worldly →
- worldling 72% match — A mundane person, preoccupied with worldly affairs rather than spiritual matters. vs worldly →
- wordly 71% match — Of, relating to, or resembling a word; verbal. vs worldly →
- secular 68% match — Not specifically religious; lay or civil, as opposed to clerical. vs worldly →
- earthly 67% match — Relating to the earth or this world, as opposed to heaven or the heavens. vs worldly →
- worldward 67% match — In regard to the world. vs worldly →
- mundane 66% match — Worldly, earthly, profane, vulgar as opposed to heavenly. vs worldly →
- otherworldly 63% match — Of, concerned with, or preoccupied with a world different from the tangible world, especially a fantasy, imaginary, or mystical world. vs worldly →