World

/wɜːld/ · noun

Meaning

(with "the" or a plural possessive pronoun) The subjective human experience, regarded collectively; human collective existence; existence in general; the reality we live in..

Definitions by Sense

1. (with "the" or a plural possessive pronoun) The subjective human experience, regarded collectively; human collective existence; existence in general; the reality we live in.
2. (with "the" or a singular possessive pronoun) The subjective human experience, regarded individually.
3. (metonymic, with "the") A majority of people.
4. The Universe.
5. (with "the") The Earth, especially in a geopolitical or cultural context, or as the physical planet.
6. (with "a") Any of several possible scenarios concerning The Earth, either as the physical planet, or in a geopolitical, cultural or societal context.
7. (countable) (Several) alternative scenarios concerning The Earth, either as the physical planet, or in a geopolitical, cultural or societal context.
8. (countable) A planet, especially one which is inhabited or inhabitable.

Example Sentences

In retrospect, the process of economic globalization has meant the end of the world as we knew it.

There will always be lovers, till the world’s end.

O wonder! / How many goodly creatures are there here! / How beauteous mankind is! / O brave new world, / That has such people in 't.

(Huxley is quoting William Shakespeare's play The Tempest in this novel's title)

So how do the scientists cope with their work being ignored for decades, and living in a world their findings indicate is on a “highway to hell”?.

The period immediately following my divorce seemed like the end of my world.

He was my world! [said of a slain companion]

The world was awake to the 2nd of May, but Mayfair is not the world, and even the menials of Mayfair lie long abed. As they turned into Hertford Street they startled a robin from the poet's head on a barren fountain, and he fled away with a cameo note.

Synonyms for world

Antonyms for world

Related Words

Word Forms

• worlds
• vurld
• worlding
• worlded

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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