worthy of

worthy of — idiom

1. having the qualities or character that make someone or something deserve praise,

1.慣用語B1
釋義

having the qualities or character that make someone or something deserve praise, attention, support, or a particular kind of treatment

例句

The city council agreed that the new library project was worthy of additional government funding.

worthy of + noun phrase: worthy of + funding

Lan believed her team's contribution to the research was worthy of a published paper.

worthy of + noun phrase (abstract noun: paper)

同義詞
  • deserving

    closest synonym; can replace 'worthy of' directly ('deserving of praise') but slightly more formal

  • meriting

    more formal and less common; typically used in written evaluation contexts ('meriting further investigation')

  • warranting

    emphasises that something justifies a particular action or response; slightly more legalistic

反義詞
  • unworthy of

    direct opposite: lacking the qualities needed to deserve something

文法句型

be + worthy of + noun/gerund

worthy of + something

用法筆記

The object of 'of' must be a noun or gerund, not a clause. Use 'deserves to' + infinitive when a clause is needed: 'This deserves to be published' (not ✗ 'this is worthy of be published').

常見錯誤

This old building is worthy to preserve.
This old building is worthy of preservation.
💡'worthy of' must be followed by a noun or gerund, not a bare infinitive.
His speech was worthy of being long.
His speech was worthy of attention.
💡'worthy of' describes deservingness, not suitability for purpose.

2. good enough or typical enough to have been produced by a particular well-known p

2.慣用語B2
釋義

good enough or typical enough to have been produced by a particular well-known person, showing the high quality or distinctive style associated with that person

例句

The elegant turn of phrase in Yasmin's letter was worthy of a celebrated novelist.

worthy of + [type of person]: worthy of a celebrated novelist

Vikram's clever solution to the engineering problem was worthy of a much more experienced team.

同義詞
  • characteristic of

    neutral comparison without the praise implication; simply says something is typical

  • typical of

    conveys the same idea of belonging to someone's style but less emphatic about quality

  • reminiscent of

    suggests something reminds you of a person's style without claiming equal quality

文法句型

be + worthy of + [famous person / type of person]

用法筆記

Frequently used in reviews, criticism, and commentary to compare a work or achievement to a known standard. The comparison can be to a specific person ('worthy of Shakespeare') or to a type of person ('worthy of a master chef'). Distinguish from sense 1: here the focus is on quality comparison to a known benchmark, not on deservingness.

常見錯誤

The meal was worthy of a top chef, so it won no awards.
The meal was worthy of a top chef; it was absolutely delicious.
💡The comparison must be positive; 'worthy of [someone]' implies high quality, not irony.