worthy

¹

[ wur-thee ]

adjective

, wor·thi·er, wor·thi·est.

1. having adequate or great merit, character, or value:

   a worthy successor.

2. of commendable excellence or merit; deserving of one's time, attention, interest, work, trouble, etc.:

   a book worthy of praise;

   a person worthy to lead.

   Synonyms: honorable, upright, exemplary, excellent, estimable, worthwhile, meritorious, deserving

noun

, plural wor·thies.

1. a person of eminent worth, merit, or position:

   The town worthies included two doctors.

-worthy

²

1. a combining form of worthy, occurring in adjectives that have the general sense “deserving of, fit for” ( blameworthy; newsworthy; noteworthy; trustworthy ), “capable of travel in or on” ( airworthy; roadworthy; seaworthy ), as specified by the first word of the compound.

worthy

/ ˈwɜːðɪ /

adjective

1. postpositive; often foll by of or an infinitive having sufficient merit or value (for something or someone specified); deserving
2. having worth, value, or merit

noun

1. facetious.
   a person of distinguished character, merit, or importance

Derived Forms

• ˈworthily, adverb
• ˈworthiness, noun

Other Words From

• wor·thi·ly adverb
• wor·thi·ness noun
• pre·wor·thi·ly adverb
• pre·wor·thy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of worthy¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; worth ¹, -y ¹

Example Sentences

Their youth, however, belies resumes worthy of a political machine.

From Los Angeles Times

But Goldstein never grapples with the implications of endorsing a framework that, in the name of scrupulously avoiding “political” prosecutions, would require prosecutors to look the other way basically anytime a president commits a crime—no matter how worthy of prosecution the crime may be, and no matter how threatening the crime is to the democratic order that Goldstein says he is so concerned with preserving.

From Slate

"We started with the beliefs and attitudes of patients, families, physicians and funeral home directors. The process of proper extraction, analysis of function, sterilization, packaging and ultimate implantation and follow-up has been rigorously sought. We have created a published roadmap, if you will, of how other centers and partners in the world can join is this most worthy cause."

From Science Daily

Gaetz is not “owed” that job; he is, on the contrary, required to prove that he is worthy of it.

From Slate

India won the unofficial series of three matches 1-0 and Hassett reported back to the Australian cricket authorities that the Indians were worthy of an official Test series.

From BBC

Related Words

• admirable
• decent
• deserving
• desirable
• excellent
• honest
• laudable
• noble
• reliable
• satisfying
• true
• trustworthy
• valuable
• worthwhile