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unworthy. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
unworthy, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
unworthy in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
From Middle English unworthy, equivalent to un- + worthy.
Pronunciation
Adjective
unworthy (comparative unworthier, superlative unworthiest)
- Not worthy; lacking value or merit; worthless.
- Antonym: worthy
c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :[…] But alas the while!
If Hercules and Lichas play at dice
Which is the better man, the greater throw
May turn by the fortune from the weaker hand:
So is Alcides beaten by his page;
And so may I, blind Fortune leading me,
Miss that which one unworthier may attain,
And die with grieving.
1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, page 703:Another place where, from the aesthetic point of view, a long tunnel would have been a real blessing, is East London as viewed from the carriage window on the old Great Eastern line. Despite a vast change from crowded slums to tracts of wasteland, due to its grim wartime experience, this approach still provides a shabby and unworthy introduction to the great capital.
1960 January, “New reading on railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 26:AN HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE RAILWAYS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. By Ernest F. Carter. Cassell. 63s. [...] Such a disappointing work is embarrassing to the reviewer and unworthy of the great House of Cassell.
Derived terms
Translations
not worthy
- Bulgarian: недосто́ен (bg) (nedostóen)
- Catalan: indigne (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 不肖 (zh) (bùxiào)
- Czech: nehodný m
- Danish: uværdig
- Esperanto: maldigna, malinda (eo)
- Finnish: arvoton (fi), kelvoton (fi), vähäarvoinen (fi), helppohintainen
- French: indigne (fr)
- Galician: indigno m
- German: unwürdig (de)
- Greek: ανάξιος (el) m (anáxios)
- Ancient: ἀνάξιος (anáxios)
- Icelandic: óverðugur
- Italian: non degno, indegno (it), immeritevole (it)
- Kurdish:
- Central Kurdish: ناشایستە (naşayiste), ناموستەحەق (namusteḧeq), ئائل (a'li)
- Latin: indignus
- Manx: neufeeu, neughoaieagh (of behaviour)
- Plautdietsch: onwirdich
- Polish: niegodny (pl), niegodzien, niewart (pl)
- Russian: недосто́йный (ru) (nedostójnyj)
- Spanish: indigno (es)
- Swedish: ovärdig (sv)
- Telugu: అనర్హము (te) (anarhamu)
- Tocharian B: mā-aṣām
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Noun
unworthy (plural unworthies)
- An inadequate person.