What does worthwhile mean?
Word: Worthwhile
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Worthwhile means worth the time, money or effort spent on it; useful or rewarding.
Synonyms: valuable, rewarding, useful
Antonyms: useless, worthless
How do you spell worthwhile?
Syllables: worth - while
Tricky part: The h of while is often left out (worthwile) because it is silent. It is one word, worth and while joined, with th and wh sitting side by side.
Watch out for: worthwile, worthwhil, werthwhile
Memory tip: Spell the middle aloud as t-h-w-h: worth hands over its th, and while starts straight away with wh.
Worthwhile in a sentence
Example 1: The trek to the hilltop was tiring, but the view made it worthwhile.
Example 2: Saving a little pocket money every week is worthwhile.
Example 3: Our extra practice proved worthwhile when the test marks went up.
Fun Fact
Worthwhile grew out of the phrase worth while, in which while means a stretch of time, so something worthwhile is worth the time you give it. People still say it will be worth your while.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word worthwhile as used in the sentence:
Planting trees along the school wall turned out to be a worthwhile project.
a) expensive
b) popular
c) successful
d) pointless
Show answer
d) pointless. A worthwhile project gives something back; one that achieves nothing at all is pointless.
Word Makeup
Choose the incorrectly spelt compound word:
a) background
b) fingernail
c) worthwhile
d) wheelbarow
Show answer
d) wheelbarow. Wheelbarrow keeps the double r of barrow; worthwhile, background and fingernail are all spelt correctly.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Giving an hour a week to teach younger children is a hhwlotwire use of time.
a) wholesale
b) worthwhile
c) whirlwind
d) worthless
Show answer
b) worthwhile. The jumble has two w's and two h's, and worthwhile is the only option that uses both pairs.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt wrongly. Choose the meaning of that word:
1. vaccine 2. sieze 3. worthwhile 4. jewellery
a) rings, necklaces and other ornaments
b) to take hold of something suddenly
c) a substance that protects against a disease
d) worth the time and trouble it takes
Show answer
b) to take hold of something suddenly. Seize breaks the i-before-e rule, so sieze is wrong; vaccine, jewellery and worthwhile are correct.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Kabir says learning the guitar was worthwhile. He means that ____.
a) it gave him something of value
b) it took far too much of his time
c) it cost him nothing to learn
d) it was easy but quite boring
Show answer
a) it gave him something of value
2. Most people would call ____ a worthwhile way to spend a Sunday.
a) waiting all day for a late bus
b) sitting in a traffic jam for hours
c) watching the same advert again
d) helping to clean the local park
Show answer
d) helping to clean the local park
