earthly

1 of 2

adjective

earth·​ly ˈərth-lē 

1

a

: characteristic of or belonging to this earth

b

: relating to the human race's actual life on this earth

2

: possible

of what earthly use is it?

earthliness noun

earthliness

2 of 2

noun

earth·​li·​ness

-thlēnə̇s, 

-lin-

plural -es

: the quality or state of being earthly

the deep original materialism or earthliness of human nature itself

—Walter Pater

Synonyms of earthly

Adjective

• temporal
• mundane
• terrestrial
• physical
• animal

Choose the Right Synonym for earthly

earthly, worldly, mundane mean belonging to or characteristic of the earth.

earthly often implies a contrast with what is heavenly or spiritual.

abandoned earthly concerns and entered a convent

worldly and mundane both imply a relation to the immediate concerns and activities of human beings, worldly suggesting tangible personal gain or gratification

worldly goods

and mundane suggesting reference to the immediate and practical.

a mundane discussion of finances

Examples of earthly in a Sentence

Adjective

a sermon against our obsession with earthly pursuits

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The new season will get around to that question, though the alien and earthly plot lines are kept on separate tracks. —Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026

Some of this can be put down to the production; Kartel’s longtime collaborator and established hitmaker TJ Records conjures a palette more suited to the trebly ionosphere of Spotify streams than the groundshaking speaker stacks that once fortified dancehall’s earthly domain. —Edwin “stats” Houghton, Pitchfork, 17 June 2026

The British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge, who converted to Christianity late in his life, pointed out that Jesus’s entire ministry was directed against the pretensions of earthly power. —Peter Wehner, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026

Everything evoked in this universe—the height and history of the pyramids, the seasonally and topographically constrained activity of skiing, the physics of the ocean, the feeling of wind, even the very idea of distance—is an echo of an echo of the earthly. —Jenny Odell, Longreads, 2 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1549, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for earthly

• unearthly

Kids Definition

earthly

adjective

earth·​ly ˈərth-lē 

1

: belonging to or having to do with the earth

earthly joys

2

: imaginable, possible

that tool is of no earthly use

earthliness noun