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Glite Dictionary
unworldliness

unworldliness

8.6
A lack of interest in practical things, often focusing on moral or spiritual values
  • noun
  • /ˌʌnˈwɜrldlinəs/
translation icon : inocencia
  • If the image of the absent-minded professor stood for benevolent unworldliness, what is the meaning of the new academic stereotype?

Examples

  • It was unworldliness, except the other things that occupied her were trivial.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • In literature, characters embodying unworldliness often prioritize spiritual enlightenment over material gain.

  • The old man seemed back to his ordinary state of unworldliness.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • He had a good heart and an unworldliness that shocked Monica.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The flaws I found, I decided, were of a kind I could live with, and some—her unworldliness, her hatred of confrontations, her weakness for all children—

    Fiction book (2000)

  • "You never watch Kojak?" When the teasing subsided, Bernardo turned to the fuming electrician and asked if he'd ever been to sea before, as if such unworldliness were impossible in a seaman.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Her unworldliness made her a breath of fresh air among those consumed by material concerns.

  • The monk's unworldliness was evident in his simple lifestyle, free from the distractions of wealth.

Synonyms

otherworldliness
vsunworldliness
  • Literature
1 9.9

Being more interested in spiritual or mysterious things than in everyday life

is lack of practical concern combined with inexperience, not only mystical focus
naiveness
vsunworldliness
6.4

A lack of experience and knowledge about how the world works

adds a moral or spiritual unconcern with practical matters beyond simple innocence
unsophistication
vsunworldliness
6.8

A lack of experience and knowledge of the wider world that makes a person seem simple

emphasises inexperience and low refinement rather than spiritual concern

Antonyms

practicality
26 3.9

Being useful and likely to work well in real situations

materialism
19 5.8

Valuing money and things more than moral or spiritual life

worldliness
1 6.4

Experience and knowledge of life and people from many places

How Worldly

worldliness
1 6.4
practicality
26 3.9
unworldliness
8.6
inexperience
24 4.0

Surface Forms

unworldliness singular
unworldlinesses plural

Morphology

unworldliness = unworldly (transparent) = un + world + ly + ness

Formed by adding the noun-forming suffix '-ness' to 'unworldly'; the meaning is directly the quality/state of being unworldly.

Etymology

Unworldliness is made of un- meaning 'not', world meaning 'everyday life' or 'material things', and -ness meaning 'a state'. So unworldliness is the state of being 'not focused on everyday or material things', often caring more about spiritual or moral values.