worldly-wise

See also: worldlywise

English

Alternative forms

• worldlywise, worldly wise

Etymology

Compare the synonym worldwise, which has cognates in various West-Germanic languages.

Adjective

worldly-wise (comparative more worldly-wise, superlative most worldly-wise)

1. Experienced in the ways of the world; sophisticated and cosmopolitan.

   Synonym: worldwise

   • 2014 May 28, John McWhorter, “Saint Maya”, in The New Republic‎, →ISSN:

     I had a natural African American impulse to let this worldlywise middle-aged black woman's maternalism wash over me. And as a post-civil rights African American, I assumed that it was a white audience's job to follow suit.

Translations

experienced in the ways of the world

Dutch: wereldwijs (nl) German: weltklug (de) Polish: wyrobiony Russian: быва́лый (ru) (byvályj) Swedish: världsklok (sv), världsvan (sv), erfaren (sv)