otherworldly
See also: other-worldly
English
Etymology
otherworld + -ly
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "US" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. enPR: ŭth'ər-wûrldʹli, IPA(key): /ˌʌðɚˈwɝld.li/
Adjective
otherworldly (comparative more otherworldly, superlative most otherworldly)
- Of, concerned with, or preoccupied with a different world than that of the tangible here and now, such as a heavenly, spiritual, or imaginary world.
- Synonyms: ethereal, mystical, transcendental
- 1917, H. G. Wells, God, the Invisible King, ch. 5,
- Every religion that becomes ascendant, in so far as it is not otherworldly, must necessarily set its stamp upon the methods and administration of the law.
- 2007 August 26, Clive Davis, “Simphiwe Dana: The One Love Movement on Bantu Biko Street”, in Times of London[1]:
- Dana has the otherworldly temperament of a mystic.
- Not belonging to the real world; unnatural; odd and unfamiliar.
- Synonym: alien
- 1919 October, John Galsworthy, chapter VII, in Saint’s Progress, London: William Heinemann, published December 1919, →OCLC, part III, 1 §, page 285:
- He had not seen cricket played since the war began; it seemed almost other-worldly, with the click of the bats, and the shrill young voices, under the distant drone of that sky-hornet threshing along to Hendon.
- 2015 April 15, Jonathan Martin, “For a Clinton, It’s Not Hard to Be Humble in an Effort to Regain Power”, in The New York Times[2]:
- An almost otherworldly resilience has characterized the 40-year arc of the Clintons’ political lives, a well-documented pattern of dazzling success, shattering setback and inevitable recovery.
Alternative forms
Translations
of a different world than that of the here and now
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