unworldly en · ADJ
Pronunciation
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English worldly English unworldly From un- + worldly.
Meanings
- Exceeding what is typically found in the world; exceptional, transcendent.
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Characterising people who are unconcerned with worldly matters; spiritually minded.
‘But a good wife—a good unworldly woman—may really help a man, and keep him more independent.’
1871–1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XVII, in Middlemarch […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book II:I am an aspiring theological writer-artist, Alien Christian Mystic, unworldly, contemplative.
1982 August 28, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 7, page 18:
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Not belonging to this world; celestial.
This creature from a higher world has not forgotten all that he knew before; he retains his unworldly talents and supreme intelligence.
1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 35:
- Lacking sophistication.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| unworldliest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| unworldlier | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (7)
nl wereldvreemd (lacking sophistication) · bg духовен (spiritually minded) · gv neughooghyssagh (spiritually minded) · bg неопитен (lacking sophistication) · bg наивен (lacking sophistication) · de weltfremd (lacking sophistication) · gv neuheihltagh (spiritually minded)