student asking question

What's "worldly" mean when's it used?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Generally, "worldly" refers to material objects and ordinary life, usually as opposed to something spiritual, but here it's used in comparison to Hikaru Utada's career and art. They've been encouraged to focus on their music rather than ordinary things like opening a bank account. Ex: I like to meditate to shift my attention away from worldly things. It calms me. Ex: Worldly things aren't as important as peace and love. Ex: It's impossible to live without focusing on worldly things.

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