ethereal
Americanadjective
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light, airy, or tenuous.
an ethereal world created through the poetic imagination.
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extremely delicate or refined.
ethereal beauty.
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heavenly or celestial.
gone to his ethereal home.
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of or relating to the upper regions of space.
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Chemistry. pertaining to, containing, or resembling ether.
adjective
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extremely delicate or refined; exquisite
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almost as light as air; impalpable; airy
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celestial or spiritual
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of, containing, or dissolved in an ether, esp diethyl ether
an ethereal solution
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of or relating to the ether
Other Word Forms
- ethereality noun
- ethereally adverb
- etherealness noun
- ethereous adjective
- nonethereal adjective
- nonethereality noun
- nonethereally adverb
- nonetherealness noun
- unethereal adjective
- unethereally adverb
- unetherealness noun
Etymology
Origin of ethereal
First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin aethere(us) (from Greek aithérios ), equivalent to aether- ether + -eus adjective suffix + -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She feels borne along by the ethereal sounds and unaccountably stirred by the slightest tonal changes.
Directors Hammerling and Baghdadi don’t have a huge mystery on their hands, and the direction and choice of imagery and editing generate a sense of ethereal wonder and elusiveness, rather than suspense or high drama.
The lyrics were eerie and ethereal: “Who can say where the road goes? Where the day flows? Only time”
From Los Angeles Times
There was water in every direction, as far as I could see, and an ethereal mist hovered above it.
From Literature
Directly in the center, a slender vertical window — part of the gallery’s architecture — illuminates the otherwise darkened room with a pillar of natural light, further contributing to the ethereal nature of the piece.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
