to unworld

9.9

To give up money and things to live a more spiritual life

verb
/ʌnˈwɜrld/

Archaic

: desvincular

The monk sought to unworld himself from material desires.

Examples

They are trying to unworld their lives by focusing on inner peace.
She wished to unworld her mind from the distractions of daily life.
The monk tried to unworld himself by giving up all his possessions.
In ancient times, some people would unworld themselves to seek spiritual enlightenment.
The monk tried to unworld himself by giving up all his possessions.
In ancient times, some people would unworld themselves to seek spiritual enlightenment.
She wished to unworld her mind from the distractions of daily life.

Synonyms

to untether

vsto unworld

1 6.2

To free someone or something from limits so they can act more freely

removes worldly concerns or possessions in an older, specialized sense

Surface Forms

unworld infinitive

unworlded past

unworlded past participle

unworlding present participle

unworlds third person singular

Morphology

unworld = world (transparent) = un + world

Meaning is directly compositional: 'un-' (negation/away) + 'world' (material life); although the verb is archaic, its derivation is clear.

Etymology

Unworld begins with un-, which means 'not' or 'remove', and ends with world, which means 'the things of this life', so it gives the simple image of 'taking away the world' from someone. So, to unworld someone is to free them from worldly things and concerns, which is why it was used for people who gave up possessions to seek a spiritual life.