otherworldly

adjective

oth·​er·​world·​ly ˌə-t͟hər-ˈwərl(d)-lē 

1

a

: of, relating to, or resembling that of a world other than the actual world

b

: devoted to preparing for a world to come

2

: devoted to intellectual or imaginative pursuits

otherworldliness noun

Synonyms

• supernatural
• paranormal
• transcendental
• mystical
• metaphysical

Examples of otherworldly in a Sentence

otherworldly creatures from the deep sea

a movie in which otherworldly beings live among us in a parallel universe

Recent Examples on the Web

Shot of the week Carlos Alcaraz’s otherworldly performance against Brandon Nakashima had plenty of highlights. —Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025

Photograph of the year goes to Margrit Schwarz, who captured an otherworldly perspective of rock formations. —Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 28 Sep. 2025

Adding to the otherworldly ambience is the shifting jazz-folk score by Mary Komasa and Antoni Łazarkiewicz, which, like our hero, is similarly protean in nature. —Damon Wise, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2025

The Master is the greatest of them all, a movie peopled by characters who are at once intensely human and also the stuff of otherworldly fables. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for otherworldly

• unworldly
• worldly