otherworldliness
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˌʌðərˈwɜrldlinəs/
- Literature
- But it was her sweetness more than anything else that had attracted Anne, and Nina's selflessness—she had a kind of otherworldliness, a total lack of ego—was how Anne would describe her later.
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Watch on YouTubeSome reveal my long standing interest in other worlds, which is to say, the otherworldliness of this world.
- Some reveal my long standing interest in other worlds, which is to say, the otherworldliness of this world.
Examples
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There was no apparent pattern to his behavior, nothing that could be pointed to as evidence of otherworldliness.
Fiction book (1994) -
Finally, "absolute drama," with its connotations of otherworldliness, transcendence, and inaccessibility, is a curious name for a theater that evokes the immanence of human dialogue and communication.
Academic text (1997) -
For this otherworldliness, I loved them.
Fiction book (1996) -
Some reveal my long standing interest in other worlds, which is to say, the otherworldliness of this world.
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All its languor, its otherworldliness, are being ironed out.
Fiction book (1994) -
The whole town has an aura of peace and otherworldliness; the centre is mostly pedestrianized, and it is quite small with very old, quaint buildings.
Blog text (34) -
His brown eyes had the qualities often attributed to blue: iciness, brilliance, clarity, depth, otherworldliness.
Fiction book (1990) -
The notion of otherworld (or otherworldliness) has been used in the analysis of Nabokov's aesthetics by Alexandrov.
Academic text (2006) -
On the one hand, otherworldliness is often anti-environmental: the temporal gives way before the eternal, with anything and everything physical and material being treated as an impure vessel, a profane means to the sacred eternal ends.
Academic text (2001) -
The film was praised for its stunning visuals that created a sense of otherworldliness.
Synonyms
71
6.3
A concern with the inner life and connection beyond physical things
3
8.5
Belief in the soul and other unseen parts of life rather than physical things
A strange, magical quality that makes someone seem not of this world
A lack of interest in practical things, often focusing on moral or spiritual values
Antonyms
How Otherworldly
- Formal
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9.9
11
9.4
- Literature
1
9.9
71
6.3
1
7.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
otherworldliness = otherworldly (transparent) = other + world + ly + ness
The noun is straightforwardly formed from the adjective 'otherworldly' with the productive suffix '-ness' meaning 'the quality of'.
Etymology
The word otherworldliness is made of three simple parts: other 'different', world 'this life', and -ness 'the quality of'. So, otherworldliness is the quality of seeming to come from a different or spiritual world, which is why it means being more interested in dreams and the mystical than in everyday life.