as in naive
lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment
the guy's unworldly enough to think that any stranger who would approach him on a city street is simply trying to help him
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Recent Examples of unworldly
Internationally, however, the film’s distribution prospects rest largely on Cotillard, also burdened with the heaviest dramatic lifting to do as the stricken, unworldly protagonist who bridges the film’s two improbably connected realms.
—
Guy Lodge, Variety, 18 May 2026
Channels the inner, bestial urges to release an unworldly howl that pushes back any nearby enemies.
—Oliver Brandt, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
He is known for pioneering overuse of the Auto-Tune effect, giving his vocals an unworldly quality.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 3 June 2025
The movie then flashes back to reveal the unworldly events of the day before.
—Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 19 Apr. 2025
While there are countless superhero stories flooding the TV landscape, Emma Moran's Extraordinary soars with its down-to-earth, Boys-esque twist, where being a hero isn't all it's cracked up to be and unworldly abilities aren't just devices for destruction.
—Alex Galbraith, EW.com, 24 Sep. 2024
Buruma, who excels at setting a rather unworldly man in the public life of his time, describes how, in 1672, a mob in The Hague lynched Johan and Cornelis de Witt, brothers who had led the Netherlands’ liberal regime during what is now remembered as the Dutch Golden Age.
—Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
Lucky for them, Vegas is an unworldly place.
—Mark Gray, Peoplemag, 29 Nov. 2022
After leaving his rural village for Paris, Lucien befriends another writer, Etienne (Vincent Lacoste), who introduces his unworldly protege to an exciting cadre of liberal journalists — including a publisher played by Gérard Depardieu — who regularly attack the royalist government.
—Pat Padua, Washington Post, 28 June 2022
Guy Lodge, Variety, 18 May 2026
Channels the inner, bestial urges to release an unworldly howl that pushes back any nearby enemies.
—Oliver Brandt, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
He is known for pioneering overuse of the Auto-Tune effect, giving his vocals an unworldly quality.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 3 June 2025
The movie then flashes back to reveal the unworldly events of the day before.
—Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 19 Apr. 2025
While there are countless superhero stories flooding the TV landscape, Emma Moran's Extraordinary soars with its down-to-earth, Boys-esque twist, where being a hero isn't all it's cracked up to be and unworldly abilities aren't just devices for destruction.
—Alex Galbraith, EW.com, 24 Sep. 2024
Buruma, who excels at setting a rather unworldly man in the public life of his time, describes how, in 1672, a mob in The Hague lynched Johan and Cornelis de Witt, brothers who had led the Netherlands’ liberal regime during what is now remembered as the Dutch Golden Age.
—Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
Lucky for them, Vegas is an unworldly place.
—Mark Gray, Peoplemag, 29 Nov. 2022
After leaving his rural village for Paris, Lucien befriends another writer, Etienne (Vincent Lacoste), who introduces his unworldly protege to an exciting cadre of liberal journalists — including a publisher played by Gérard Depardieu — who regularly attack the royalist government.
—Pat Padua, Washington Post, 28 June 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unworldly
Adjective
-
Southgate’s confident assertion that the tide of history was turning against bigotry now looks utopian, or even naïve.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
18 June 2026
-
Season 2 follows two couples on a path of mutual destruction, one older and jaded and one young and naive.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
Authorities say a suspect who was eight months pregnant crashed her car into a Sturbridge, Massachusetts hotel early Thursday morning and then started shooting, critically injuring an innocent bystander at the hotel before turning the gun on herself.—
Aaron Parseghian,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
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The deaths of innocent Americans, and misleading the public on the rationale for their deaths, played a role in her departure.—
Gary Franks,
Hartford Courant,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
Armando Chavez, owner of local business NorCal Siders, was brought in for a simple roof patch-up but left with a big idea.—
Kayla Moeller,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
-
The cause can be something as simple as a lack of water or more complex, like fungal wilt diseases, tomato wilt viruses, walnut toxicity, or boring insects.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
The Spruce,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
In the end, an inexperienced minor – who has no idea who hired them – pulls the trigger.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 June 2026
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Niemeyer found that random killing also creates chaos by replacing older coyotes that have learned the dangers of depredating livestock with younger, inexperienced coyotes that do depredate.—
Ted Williams,
Denver Post,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unworldly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unworldly. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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