unworthy

English

Etymology

From Middle English unworthy, equivalent to un- +‎ worthy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʌnˈwɝði/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ði

Adjective

unworthy (comparative unworthier, superlative unworthiest)

1. 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[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     […] 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

• unworthily
• unworthiness

Related terms

• worth
• unworth

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

Noun

unworthy (plural unworthies)

1. An inadequate person.