world-weary

adjective

world-wea·​ry ˈwərld-ˌwir-ē How to pronounce world-weary (audio)
: feeling or showing fatigue from or boredom with the life of the world and especially material pleasures
world-weariness noun

Examples of world-weary in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Affleck, while remaining an industry pillar, acquired a secondary reputation for his world-weary grimace, seen through the lenses of the paparazzi who haunted him still. Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2024 Peter Haber plays Martin Beck, a middle-aged, world-weary cop who suffered a great tragedy early in his career. Andrea Duncan-Mao, Vulture, 28 Jan. 2024 Marton Csokas plays Angus’ world-weary father Gordon. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2024 Again and again, this marvelous English performer, who died on Saturday at the age of 75, located the comedy as well as the gravity in a world-weary visage. Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2023 If there’s a woman on your list who seems a little world-weary (or whose toes are known to run cold), treat her to these cashmere pink-ballet slippers that evoke fluffy clouds at dusk. Katharine K. Zarrella, WSJ, 16 Nov. 2023 The track’s polished but never overdone production places the focus on Patrick’s warm yet world-weary vocal, and on this essential message. Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 2 Oct. 2023 In addition to sterling work by the three young principals, Ian Hart gives a standout performance as the British High Commissioner’s ubiquitous righthand man, offering a supercilious, world-weary gravitas that seemingly epitomizes the official British attitude to the Mandate. Alissa Simon, Variety, 17 Sep. 2023 Here, Washington’s world-weary retired assassin Robert McCall is plying his helping-those-in-need brand of vigilantism in Italy, where the Mafia conveniently serves up plenty of ruthless human cannon fodder to zero out in his quest to balance the scales of justice. Brian Lowry, CNN, 1 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'world-weary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1750, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of world-weary was in 1750

Cite this Entry

“World-weary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/world-weary. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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