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

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

“Excluding them from sports sends a terrible message that they are not worthy of being treated the same as cisgender teammates and classmates,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

The worthy effort to emphasize that much of the artist’s inventive genius — unfurling in thousands of manuscript pages, rather than oil paint and tempera — makes the dull staging a perhaps unavoidable conceit.

From Los Angeles Times

One source told me – in a line worthy of the sitcom Yes Minister – that the trio might “decide to decide, decide to delay deciding, or… decide not to decide”.

From BBC

From de Waal's 1982 book "Chimpanzee Politics" to 2019's "Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What they Tell Us about Ourselves," attitudes about whether animals might have thoughts worthy of scientific exploration changed dramatically.

From Science Daily

Related Words

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