Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

World

//wɜːld// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective

1
involving the entire earth; not limited or provincial in scope wordnet

Proper Noun

1
The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Earth: the Earth (our earth).
2
The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; The Universe: our universe.
3
The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Existence.
4
The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:; The Third World (the third world).
5
The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:; The First World (the first world).

Show 5 more definitions

6
The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:; The Second World (the second world).
7
The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:; The Fourth World (the fourth world).
8
The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:; The Industrialized World (the industrialized world).
9
The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:; The Developed World (the developed world).
10
The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:; The Developing World (the developing world).

Noun

1
The subjective human experience, regarded collectively; human collective existence; existence in general; the reality we live in.
"In retrospect, the process of economic globalization has meant the end of the world as we knew it."
2
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth wordnet
3
The subjective human experience, regarded individually.
"The period immediately following my divorce seemed like the end of my world."
4
the concerns of this life as distinguished from heaven and the afterlife wordnet
5
A majority of people. metonymically, with-definite-article
"Running after God is the only life worth living. Even though the world believes that living for God is boring, we believe that there is nothing more exciting."

Show 20 more definitions

6
all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you wordnet
7
The Universe.
8
people in general; especially a distinctive group of people with some shared interest wordnet
9
The Earth, especially in a geopolitical or cultural context, or as the physical planet. with-definite-article
"People are dying of starvation all over the world."
10
people in general considered as a whole wordnet
11
Any of several possible scenarios concerning The Earth, either as the physical planet, or in a geopolitical, cultural or societal context.
"Who would want to live in a world like this?"
12
everything that exists anywhere wordnet
13
(Several) alternative scenarios concerning The Earth, either as the physical planet, or in a geopolitical, cultural or societal context. countable
"the best of all possible worlds. In the French original: le meilleur des mondes possibles. In German: die beste aller möglichen Welten."
14
a part of the earth that can be considered separately wordnet
15
A planet, especially one which is inhabited or inhabitable. countable
"Our mission is to travel the galaxy and find new worlds."
16
A planet, especially one which is inhabited or inhabitable.; Any other astronomical body which may be inhabitable, such as a natural satellite. broadly, countable
17
A very large extent of country.
"the New World"
18
In various mythologies, cosmologies, etc., one of a number of separate realms or regions having different characteristics and occupied by different types of inhabitants.
"Frey [...] clambered up on to the Hildskjalf, the throne from which Odin could see everything that happened across the nine worlds."
19
A fictional realm, such as a planet, containing one or multiple societies of beings, especially intelligent ones.
"the world of Narnia"
20
An individual or group perspective or social setting.
"In the world of boxing, good diet is all-important."
21
The part of an operating system distributed with the kernel, consisting of the shell and other programs.
22
A subdivision of a game, consisting of a series of stages or levels that usually share a similar environment or theme.
"Have you reached the boss at the end of the ice world?"
23
The twenty-second trump or major arcana card of the tarot.
24
A great amount, a lot. informal
"Taking a break from work seems to have done her a world of good."
25
Age, era. archaic
"Thy kingdom is a kingdom of al worldes: and thy domnion in al generation and generation."

Verb

1
To consider or cause to be considered from a global perspective; to consider as a global whole, rather than making or focusing on national or other distinctions; compare globalize. transitive
"There are by now many feminisms (Tong, 1989; Humm, 1992). [...] They are in shifting alliance or contest with postmodern critiques, which at times seem to threaten the very category 'women' and its possibilities for a feminist politics. These debates inform this attempt at worlding women—moving beyond white western power centres and their dominant knowledges (compare Spivak, 1985), while recognising that I, as a white settler-state woman, need to attend to differences between women, too."
2
To make real; to make worldly. transitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁-? Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós Proto-Germanic *weraz Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *h₂életi Proto-Germanic *alaną Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Germanic *-þiz Proto-Germanic *aldiz Proto-Germanic *weraldiz Proto-West Germanic *weraldi Old English weorold Middle English world English world From Middle English world, from Old English weorold (“world”), from Proto-West Germanic *weraldi, from Proto-Germanic *weraldiz (“lifetime, human existence, world”, literally “age/era of man”), equivalent to wer (“man”) + eld (“age”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English mounde (“world”), from Old French monde, munde (“world”). Cognates Cognate with Scots warld (“world”), North Frisian Wārel, wäält, wråål (“world”), Saterland Frisian Waareld (“world”), West Frisian wrâld (“world”), Afrikaans wêreld (“world”), Bavarian Wöd (“world”), Dutch wereld (“world”), German, Luxembourgish Welt (“world”), German Low German Wereld, Werld (“world”), Vilamovian wełt (“world”), Yiddish וועלט (velt, “world”), Danish verden (“world”), Elfdalian wärd (“world”), Faroese verð, verøld (“world”), Icelandic veröld (“world”), Norn vrildan (“the earth”), Norwegian Bokmål verd, verden (“(the) world”), Norwegian Nynorsk verd (“world”), Swedish värld (“world”).

Etymology 2

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: world