empyrean

American  

[em-puh-ree-uhn, -pahy-, em-pir-ee-uhn, -pahy-ree-] / ˌɛm pəˈri ən, -paɪ-, ɛmˈpɪr i ən, -ˈpaɪ ri- /

noun

1. the highest heaven, supposed by the ancients to contain the pure element of fire.

2. the visible heavens; the firmament.

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adjective

1. empyreal.

empyrean British  

/ ˌɛmpaɪˈriːən /

noun

1. archaic the highest part of the (supposedly spherical) heavens, thought in ancient times to contain the pure element of fire and by early Christians to be the abode of God and the angels

2. poetic the heavens or sky

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adjective

1. of or relating to the sky, the heavens, or the empyrean

2. heavenly or sublime

3. archaic composed of fire

Etymology

Origin of empyrean

1605–15; < Late Latin empyre ( us ) empyreal + -an

Example Sentences

The Virgin is opening her arms, about to begin her rise through this nebulous, spiraling vortex toward heaven’s golden, empyrean light.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

He is especially good at describing Catherine’s ascent into the social media empyrean.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2023

Still, there was no prohibition, earthly or empyrean, on laymen entering the ranks, and, here and there, they did.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 28, 2018

The implication is that “somewhere in the empyrean, infinitely tall, the Chrysler Building is still rising.”

From Washington Post • May 7, 2016

For the gatekeepers of heaven were to review him in state, that they might make their decision: Would this man be a credit to the empyrean?

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen