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
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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
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Recent Examples of worldly
The top-down talent set a worldly tone that the dialogue-heavy, 2-hour 18-minute movie needs to hang together.
—
John Wenzel, Denver Post, 14 Oct. 2025
Parked nearby is a grocery cart filled with his worldly processions.
—Bea L. Hines, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
Cecile is worldly and has seen her share of sorrow, while Fanny has been cloistered in this elaborate old castle under the watchful eye of an over-protective mother and eccentric grandmother.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 23 Sep. 2025
In addition to being a formidable businessman, Armani is credited with breathing new life into menswear and creating a new system of dressing for women, marrying Italian leggerezza with worldly references (China was a frequent reference point) and becoming synonymous with timeless elegance.
—Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for worldly
John Wenzel, Denver Post, 14 Oct. 2025
Parked nearby is a grocery cart filled with his worldly processions.
—Bea L. Hines, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
Cecile is worldly and has seen her share of sorrow, while Fanny has been cloistered in this elaborate old castle under the watchful eye of an over-protective mother and eccentric grandmother.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 23 Sep. 2025
In addition to being a formidable businessman, Armani is credited with breathing new life into menswear and creating a new system of dressing for women, marrying Italian leggerezza with worldly references (China was a frequent reference point) and becoming synonymous with timeless elegance.
—Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for worldly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for worldly
Adjective
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Traders, artists and thinkers from Europe and the Middle East passed through here, and that constant exchange shaped a culture that’s curious, adaptable and deeply cosmopolitan.—
Sofia Celeste,
Footwear News,
21 Oct. 2025
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Cultured, cosmopolitan, generally liberal, the Dohnányis and the Bonhoeffers represented the best of the German-speaking bourgeois tradition.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Because the Dolce Vita runs on regular Italian tracks, there are occasional pauses for more mundane events like engine swaps, traffic snarlups and delays.—
Antonia Mortensen,
CNN Money,
28 Oct. 2025
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In the video, Rosalía goes back and forth between mundane errands wihile the entire orchestra follows her around at home, at the doctor, at a coffee shop, and more.—
Julyssa Lopez,
Rolling Stone,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The aesthetic is defined by deep red and forest green tartans, warm lighting, elevated accents, and sophisticated dinnerware that evokes classic holiday charm with a polished Americana flair.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
4 Nov. 2025
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The sophisticated sound work was not yet part of broadcast radio’s lingua franca, but my generation of producers were at least exposed to some of the possibilities inherent in the form.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The novella lacks the temporal markers that indicate how much time has passed between episodes and exhibits an abundance of characters with ruptured psyches.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Oct. 2025
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Integrative regions such as the temporal poles and insular cortex allow both positive and negative events to fit together, potentially into a framework that facilitates long-term well-being.—
Anthony Vaccaro,
Scientific American,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Having exhausted our terrestrial destination, humanity is now reaching for extraterrestrial ones.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
22 Oct. 2025
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Instead of running physical cables that connect your home or RV to the greater internet, Starlink uses a series of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that communicate between your home dish and a terrestrial gateway somewhere else on Earth.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Is basketball good for your physical health?—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
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In this case, the donation is a physical piece of equipment, and the money can’t be diverted to something else, Obayashi said.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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In early Christian thinking, its connotations of languor and listlessness, within the spirit no less than the body, lent it the status of a sin—a turning aside from God for the sake of earthly sorrow.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
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Ordinary matter makes up everything from the cosmic (planets and stars) to the earthly (people and trees).—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Worldly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worldly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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