otherworldly

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

Also spelled other-worldly

US /ˌʌðɚˈwɝldli/ UK /ˌʌðəˈwɜːldli/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
seeming to belong to another world; ethereal or supernatural

The aurora cast an otherworldly green glow across the snowfields.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · seeming to belong to... ethereal unearthly supernatural spectral transcendent celestial ghostly mystical

Opposites

earthly mundane worldly ordinary material

Word family

Derived forms otherworldliness

Related forms worldotherworld

Etymology

An English compound of 'other' plus 'worldly', from Old English 'oþer' ('other') and 'woruld' ('world, human existence'), meaning belonging to a world other than this one.

woruld Old English oþer Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# otherworldly

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌʌðɚˈwɝldli/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌʌðəˈwɜːldli/

## Meanings
1. seeming to belong to another world; ethereal or supernatural

## Examples
- The aurora cast an otherworldly green glow across the snowfields.

## Synonyms
- ethereal
- unearthly
- supernatural
- spectral
- transcendent
- celestial
- ghostly
- mystical

## Antonyms
- earthly
- mundane
- worldly
- ordinary
- material

## Derived Forms
- otherworldliness

## Related Forms
- world
- otherworld

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: woruld
- Root: oþer

## Etymology
An English compound of 'other' plus 'worldly', from Old English 'oþer' ('other') and 'woruld' ('world, human existence'), meaning belonging to a world other than this one.

## AI Etymology
Otherworldly is an English compound of 'other' plus 'worldly', from Old English 'oþer' ('other') and 'woruld' ('world, human existence'), meaning belonging to a world other than this one. Important recorded forms include woruld (Old English) and oþer (Old English). The modern sense follows that older lexical line closely. In current use it covers seeming to belong to another world; ethereal or supernatural. The wider family includes derived forms such as otherworldliness and related words such as world and otherworld.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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