1
as in cosmopolitan
having a wide and refined knowledge of the world especially from personal experience
she returned from her year as an exchange student a much more worldly person
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mundane
having to do with life on earth especially as opposed to that in heaven
preoccupied with worldly concerns
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of worldly
The contrast between svn4vr’s different inflections evokes the spiritual tension of a pious person torn between worldly desire and submission to a higher power.
—
H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 9 Apr. 2026
The detectives recognized that his heartbeat would disprove his story of running around trying to rescue all of his worldly belongings.
—ArsTechnica, 8 Apr. 2026
The worldly evidence is that the Pope’s words and presence had no direct effect.
—Paul Elie, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2026
By taking on the condition of a servant, the Son reveals the Father’s glory, overturning the worldly standards that so often distort our conscience.
—Mike Snider, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for worldly
H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 9 Apr. 2026
The detectives recognized that his heartbeat would disprove his story of running around trying to rescue all of his worldly belongings.
—ArsTechnica, 8 Apr. 2026
The worldly evidence is that the Pope’s words and presence had no direct effect.
—Paul Elie, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2026
By taking on the condition of a servant, the Son reveals the Father’s glory, overturning the worldly standards that so often distort our conscience.
—Mike Snider, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for worldly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for worldly
Adjective
-
In the past decade, the leadership of the Kinahan organization has become rich and cosmopolitan, and their life styles have started to resemble those of international businessmen more than of street hoodlums.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
30 Apr. 2026
-
But a new study shows that some communities on the continent actually coalesced, becoming more cosmopolitan and diverse.—
Emma Gometz,
Scientific American,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
But there was a time when the title character of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's film, Amélie, was expected to sport a far more mundane 'do.—
Adèle Bari,
Vanity Fair,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The girls would spend hours filming TikToks, turning mundane daily moments into something playful and childlike.—
Lauren Mascarenhas,
CNN Money,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The sophisticated set by ace production designer David Gropman enables Altman’s perpetually moving and zooming camera to drift in and out of two-way mirrors that depict memories and fantasies with both immediacy and a gauzy nostalgia.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
1 May 2026
-
Even on a generous patio, clean-lined, multi-functional pieces read as more sophisticated than oversized sets that crowd the space.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
The first is their temporal nature—they are specifically designed for live and unfolding events, and their modality reflects this liveness.—
Daniel Jackson,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Her formidable, untitled 2026 sphinx regally commands its space among ancient Egyptian and Roman sculpture, a marvel of the cross-temporal and cross-spatial, spiked with specific references to Black self-determination.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Still, the music flourished on terrestrial radio and music-video television, two venues for mass musical experiences whose power has diminished drastically in the streaming era.—
Jack Hamilton,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Broadcasting and telecommunications encompass radio and television services (including terrestrial broadcasting, cable, and satellite), telephony and wireless networks, and online streaming services.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Those consumers have been increasingly seeking out solutions to ease the physical process, according to Circana.—
Laya Neelakandan,
CNBC,
2 May 2026
-
In these kinds of experiments, participants are told to practice physical activities—finger tapping, coin tossing, dart throwing with a nondominant hand—within their dreams.—
Shayla Love,
New Yorker,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
As the visionary figure, Bambaataa brought the sampling ethos to the music as well as an Afrocentric philosophy, a way of living unbounded by the earthly confines of whatever America had been or would become.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
-
That’s to say, there’s earthly authority and there’s heavenly authority.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Worldly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worldly. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
