worldly good

6.3

A thing someone owns that is not spiritual, like money or furniture

noun
/ˈwɜrldli ɡʊd/

: bien material

Many people pursue worldly goods but neglect their inner happiness.

Examples

She gave away all her worldly goods and devoted herself to helping others.
The will stated how his worldly goods should be distributed among his children.
He seeks only worldly goods.
Many people chase worldly goods instead of happiness.
He realized that true happiness does not depend on worldly goods or wealth.
Many people accumulate worldly goods, but they often find themselves unfulfilled.
She decided to volunteer and focus less on acquiring worldly goods.

Synonyms

material possession

vsworldly good

7 3.0

A thing you can touch that belongs to someone

focuses on one tangible thing rather than a collection of objects

worldly possessions

vsworldly good

3 4.1

Things a person owns, like clothes, money, and furniture

means a single tangible thing rather than the whole set

worldly possession

vsworldly good

2 3.2

A physical thing you own like money or a house, not a feeling

refers to one tangible thing rather than many items

worldly goods

vsworldly good

1 5.0

The things a person owns, especially material items

names one individual tangible thing rather than the complete set of items

Antonyms

intangible asset

Specialized

1 6.8

A valuable thing you cannot touch, like a brand name or patent

How Material

tangible possession

3.5

worldly good

6.3

intangible asset

Specialized

1 6.8

Surface Forms

worldly good singular

worldly goods plural

Morphology

worldly + good

The meaning 'material possessions' is directly derivable from 'worldly' (concerned with material/temporal things) + 'good' (a product or item), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the phrase. The construction follows a common adjective + noun pattern (often seen as 'worldly goods') and is cross-linguistically predictable, making it transparent.

Etymology

Worldly goods comes from old religious ideas: worldly means 'of this world' and goods are the things you own, so it brings to mind a person's house, clothes, and money that belong to everyday life. That's why the phrase means 'material possession' rather than something 'spiritual'.