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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of unworldly
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
The Nets are putting their hopes in a player who has an unworldly skill set for someone his height and was challenging LeBron James for the title of the game's best player, and a coach who is creative, highly intelligent, team-driven and competitive as hell.
—Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 3 Dec. 2020
And there the journey entered an unworldly realm.
—F. Salazar, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Sep. 2020
From the beginning, Monroe’s contemporaries understood her unworldly charm to be accidental, and tied to a supposed infantile nature.
—Sophie Lewis, Harper’s Magazine , 26 Oct. 2022
The look might be a tad chic and sophisticated for unworldly ditz Muriel, but the star looks so sensational, who’s quibbling?
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Mar. 2022
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
The Nets are putting their hopes in a player who has an unworldly skill set for someone his height and was challenging LeBron James for the title of the game's best player, and a coach who is creative, highly intelligent, team-driven and competitive as hell.
—Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 3 Dec. 2020
And there the journey entered an unworldly realm.
—F. Salazar, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Sep. 2020
From the beginning, Monroe’s contemporaries understood her unworldly charm to be accidental, and tied to a supposed infantile nature.
—Sophie Lewis, Harper’s Magazine , 26 Oct. 2022
The look might be a tad chic and sophisticated for unworldly ditz Muriel, but the star looks so sensational, who’s quibbling?
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Mar. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unworldly
Adjective
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From there sprung Brian, played by Lou Taylor Pucci, an alien who looks like a new-age guru in a tracksuit, and, depending on the scene, can be naive, manipulative, aloof, romantic, cruel and even self-pitying.—
William Earl,
Variety,
28 Jan. 2025
-
Things were exacerbated by naive decisions made by United players on both sides of the ball.—
Carl Anka,
The Athletic,
19 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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After a 16-month war that started with the horrific killing of 1,200 innocent Israelis and abduction of 250 more by Hamas terrorists and then the killing of more than 47,500 people in Gaza — mostly women and children — a fragile ceasefire began Jan. 19.—
Mike Quigley,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2025
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One day, during an innocent prank call in a phone booth, Richard shockingly witnesses his classmate violently get sucked into the phone receiver and disappear without a trace.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Styled by Dani Levi, Kardashian wore a simple floor-length bodycon gown from Balenciaga Couture.—
Mikelle Street,
WWD,
17 Feb. 2025
-
Yellow is the simplest, and purple is the most difficult.—
New York Times Games,
New York Times,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Houde said these mammoth animals are a primitive group of proboscideans ('elephantoids') from which modern elephants evolved.—
Joseph J. Kolb,
Fox News,
18 July 2017
-
Many are primitive and remote, and don’t have restrooms or water.—
OregonLive.com,
OregonLive.com,
12 July 2017
Adjective
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Edamame Edamame are immature green soybeans high in protein, fiber, iron, vitamin C, and calcium.—
Jamie Johnson,
Verywell Health,
6 Feb. 2025
-
People who are emotionally immature often won’t take responsibility for their own actions when something goes wrong.—
Kathy and Ross Petras, Contributors,
CNBC,
1 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near unworldly
Cite this Entry
“Unworldly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unworldly. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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