unworldly

adj

"unworldly" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“unworldly” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Exceeding what is typically found in the world; exceptional, transcendent.

Corpus desk

Index EN-unworldly · unworldly · English

unworldly · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "U" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for unworldly
PropertyValue
Headwordunworldly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “unworldly” in English

unworldlysits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

unworldly is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for unworldly, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From un- + worldly. The correct English form is unworldly, spelled U-N-W-O-R-L-D-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Exceeding what is typically found in the world; exceptional, transcendent.
  2. 2
    Characterising people who are unconcerned with worldly matters; spiritually minded.
  3. 3
    Not belonging to this world; celestial.
  4. 4
    Lacking sophistication.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how unworldly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. ‘But a good wife—a good unworldly woman—may really help a man, and keep him more independent.’
  2. I am an aspiring theological writer-artist, Alien Christian Mystic, unworldly, contemplative.

Etymology

From un- + worldly.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "unworldly"?
"unworldly" is spelled U-N-W-O-R-L-D-L-Y.
What does "unworldly" mean?
As an adjective, "unworldly" means: Exceeding what is typically found in the world; exceptional, transcendent.
What is the origin of the word "unworldly"?
From un- + worldly. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list