Synonyms of earthly

earthly

adjective

ˈərth-lē 

as in temporal

having to do with life on earth especially as opposed to that in heaven

a sermon against our obsession with earthly pursuits

Synonyms & Similar Words

• temporal
• mundane
• terrestrial
• physical
• animal
• bodily
• worldly
• earthbound
• sublunary
• corporeal
• carnal
• fleshly
• terrene
• daily
• corporal
• material
• earthborn
• diurnal
• unspiritual
• anthropocentric
• anthropic

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• heavenly
• celestial
• unearthly
• spiritual
• metaphysical
• divine
• religious
• supernal
• unworldly
• sacred
• nontemporal
• utopian
• devotional
• supernatural
• transcendent
• transcendental
• empyrean
• empyreal
• ethereal
• Elysian
• otherworldly
• extraterrestrial
• unearthly

Synonym Chooser

How is the word earthly distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words mundane and worldly are common synonyms of earthly. While all three words mean "belonging to or characteristic of the earth," earthly often implies a contrast with what is heavenly or spiritual.

abandoned earthly concerns and entered a convent

When is mundane a more appropriate choice than earthly?

In some situations, the words mundane and earthly are roughly equivalent. However, mundane suggests reference to the immediate and practical.

a mundane discussion of finances

How are the words worldly and mundane related as synonyms of earthly?

Worldly and mundane both imply a relation to the immediate concerns and activities of human beings, worldly suggesting tangible personal gain or gratification.

worldly goods

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of earthly

The new season will get around to that question, though the alien and earthly plot lines are kept on separate tracks. — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026

Some of this can be put down to the production; Kartel’s longtime collaborator and established hitmaker TJ Records conjures a palette more suited to the trebly ionosphere of Spotify streams than the groundshaking speaker stacks that once fortified dancehall’s earthly domain. — Edwin “stats” Houghton, Pitchfork, 17 June 2026

The British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge, who converted to Christianity late in his life, pointed out that Jesus’s entire ministry was directed against the pretensions of earthly power. — Peter Wehner, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026

Everything evoked in this universe—the height and history of the pyramids, the seasonally and topographically constrained activity of skiing, the physics of the ocean, the feeling of wind, even the very idea of distance—is an echo of an echo of the earthly. — Jenny Odell, Longreads, 2 June 2026