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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Recent Examples of unworldly
Channels the inner, bestial urges to release an unworldly howl that pushes back any nearby enemies.
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Oliver Brandt, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
He is known for pioneering overuse of the Auto-Tune effect, giving his vocals an unworldly quality.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 3 June 2025
The movie then flashes back to reveal the unworldly events of the day before.
—Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 19 Apr. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unworldly
Adjective
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Russia is a tyranny, which makes some of us feel naive.—
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Some biologists believe that as much as 25 percent of the diet of some coyote packs in LA in the naive 1980s was human food.—
Adjective
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Demonstrators argued that taxpayer money should not be used to harm or kill innocent people and rejected claims that the killing of Good was an act of self-defense.—
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Multiple innocent lives lost due to violence.—
Adjective
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This simple taupe geometric style peel-and-stick wallpaper is affordable, easy to apply, and looks gorgeous without being too bold or loud.—
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The simple addition of zipper detailing adds a preppy energy to the top.—
Adjective
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Jokic didn’t overtake Jamal Murray as Denver’s leading scorer until their seventh game of the season, after a 33-point performance Wednesday against a Miami Heat frontcourt that was woefully undersized and inexperienced the instant Bam Adebayo exited with a foot injury.—
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Henderson has struggled in that role as a rookie, and Jennings is inexperienced at the pro level.—
Cite this Entry
“Unworldly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unworldly. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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