English Reference
Adjective

otherworldly

adj.
C1 Advanced US /ˈəðɝˈwɝɫdɫi/ UK /ˈʌðəwˌɜːldli/ oth·er·world·ly

adj.looking or feeling like it belongs to a different world. You use this to describe something that is very strange, beautiful, or not like anything you have seen before.

adj.resembling or belonging to another world; having a quality that is strange, unearthly, or supernatural. Often used to describe landscapes or experiences that feel alien to the observer.


SIMPLE

The ancient ruins looked otherworldly in the moonlight.

COMPLEX

The artist's use of deep blues and silvers created an otherworldly atmosphere that seemed to transport the viewer to a realm beyond the physical world.

That's what it's like standing in Egypt's coastal sabkhas—those otherworldly landscapes where the ground crunches beneath your feet and the air shimmers with heat.

Phys.org· 1 Sept 2026

The show ends with a forlorn and otherworldly solo, performed inside two clingfilm-wrapped frames forming a tunnel.

The Guardian· 17 Aug 2026

From other world (“a world beyond death; a world other than the everyday world”) + -ly (suffix meaning having the likeness of, resembling forming adjectives).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated