worshipful

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈwɝ.ʃɪp.fəl/ UK /ˈwɜː.ʃɪp.fəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
feeling or showing reverence and adoration; honorable

She gazed at the painting with worshipful attention.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · feeling or showing... reverent adoring venerating devout honorableesteemed

Opposites

irreverent contemptuous disrespectful

Word family

Derived forms worshipfullyworshipfulness

Related forms worship worshipper worshipped

Etymology

From worship + -ful, from Old English weorþscipe ('worthiness, honor'), from weorþ ('worthy') + -scipe ('-ship').

weorþscipe Old English weorþ Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# worshipful

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈwɝ.ʃɪp.fəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwɜː.ʃɪp.fəl/

## Meanings
1. feeling or showing reverence and adoration; honorable

## Examples
- She gazed at the painting with worshipful attention.

## Synonyms
- reverent
- adoring
- venerating
- devout
- honorable
- esteemed

## Antonyms
- irreverent
- contemptuous
- disrespectful

## Derived Forms
- worshipfully
- worshipfulness

## Related Forms
- worship
- worshipper
- worshipped

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: weorþscipe
- Root: weorþ

## Etymology
From worship + -ful, from Old English weorþscipe ('worthiness, honor'), from weorþ ('worthy') + -scipe ('-ship').

## AI Etymology
Worshipful comes from worship + -ful, from Old English weorþscipe ('worthiness, honor'), from weorþ ('worthy') + -scipe ('-ship'). In current use it is an adjective meaning "feeling or showing reverence and adoration; honorable". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The suffix -ful marks possession or fullness of the quality named by the base. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Old English weorþscipe and Old English weorþ. Related English forms include worship, worshipper, and worshipped. Derived forms include worshipfully and worshipfulness. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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