Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Insufficient in worth; undeserving.
- adjective Lacking value or merit; worthless.
- adjective Not suiting or befitting.
- adjective Vile; despicable.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Not deserving; not worthy; undeserving: usually followed by of.
- Wanting merit; worthless; vile; base.
- Unbecoming; shameful; discreditable.
- Not having suitable qualities or value; unsuitable; unbecoming; beneath the character of: with of.
- Not deserved; not justified.
- noun One who is unworthy.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Not worthy; wanting merit, value, or fitness; undeserving; worthless; unbecoming; -- often with
of .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Not
worthy ; lacking value or merit;worthless .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective not deserving
- adjective lacking in value or merit
- adjective morally reprehensible
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word unworthy.
Examples
-
Consequently, I have found that much of what is put forth as evidence on this question is, as Mr. Corney has very justly intimated, quite inadmissible; in short, unworthy of belief.
-
Sportsman he was, and rake and gambler, as were we all; and I have seen him often overflushed with wine, but never heard from his lips a blasphemy or foul jest, never a word unworthy of clean lips and the clean heart he carried with him to his grave.
The Reckoning 1899
-
_Oui-a-ra - lih-to_, with about thirty-five warriors of the Indian village of Lorette in conjunction with the Iroquois and Algonquins, was actually engaged in the army of Burgoyne, a name unworthy to be associated with the noble spirit of Indian heroism.
Picturesque Quebec : a sequel to Quebec past and present 1868
-
'I thought you would deem such a name unworthy to be mentioned.'
Hopes and Fears or, scenes from the life of a spinster Charlotte Mary Yonge 1862
-
My advice to Steve who feels he may get “lost” in a sea of photos he may or may not deem unworthy is to learn a bit more about tags and keywords.
Great Photo on Flickr? Getty Images Might Pay You for It - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008
-
Given that the statement Ann called him on was an opinion -- specifically, that a "council" of bloggers that condemned the unworthy might be a good idea -- I'm not sure why Eric would think that "fact-checking" would have saved him.
Why did Eric Alterman stop doing Bloggingheads? Ann Althouse 2008
-
Hush! said he, I charge you! call not the dear girl by any name unworthy of her.
Pamela 2006
-
Dr. Gene pointed out that the word in that verse is "unworthily" not "unworthy" -- an adverb, not an adjective -- it's about whether I approach the Lord's Table with a proper reverence and understanding of its significance.
-
At the sound the Earl started from his seat, and ran to the window, with the momentary purpose of recalling the unworthy commission with which he had entrusted one of whom he used to say he knew no virtuous property save affection to his patron.
Kenilworth 2004
-
But it is one and the same God, the Father of our Lord, from whom also the prophets had their mission, who does indeed, through His infinite kindness, call the unworthy; but He examines those who are called, [to ascertain] if they have on the garment fit and proper for the marriage of His Son, because nothing unbecoming or evil pleases Him.
ANF01. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus 1819-1893 2001
PossibleUnderscore commented on the word unworthy
"Don't you think that any secret course is an unworthy one?"
-David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
July 28, 2009