eternal
Americanadjective
-
without beginning or end; lasting forever; always existing (temporal ).
eternal life.
- Synonyms:
- permanent
- Antonyms:
- transitory
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perpetual; ceaseless; endless.
eternal quarreling;
eternal chatter.
-
eternal principles.
- Synonyms:
- indestructible, imperishable, undying, deathless, immortal, timeless
- Antonyms:
- mutable
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Metaphysics. existing outside all relations of time; not subject to change.
noun
-
something that is eternal.
-
the Eternal. God.
adjective
-
-
without beginning or end; lasting for ever
eternal life
-
( as noun )
the eternal
-
-
(often capital) denoting or relating to that which is without beginning and end, regarded as an attribute of God
-
unchanged by time, esp being true or valid for all time; immutable
eternal truths
-
seemingly unceasing; occurring again and again
eternal bickering
Related Words
Eternal, endless, everlasting, perpetual imply lasting or going on without ceasing. That which is eternal is, by its nature, without beginning or end: God, the eternal Father. That which is endless never stops but goes on continuously as if in a circle: an endless succession of years. That which is everlasting will endure through all future time: a promise of everlasting life. Perpeptual implies continuous renewal as far into the future as one can foresee: perpetual strife between nations.
Other Word Forms
- eternality noun
- eternally adverb
- eternalness noun
- noneternal adjective
- noneternalness noun
- preeternal adjective
- quasi-eternal adjective
Etymology
Origin of eternal
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English eternale, eterneel, from Old French eternal, eternel, from Late Latin aeternālis, equivalent to aetern(us) ( eterne ) + -ālis -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.
In “Ready or Not,” Weaving’s blushing bride-to-be, Grace, discovers that she’s marrying into a family of devil-worshippers who sold their souls for eternal wealth, and they must sacrifice her to keep the money rolling in.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026
It is worth repeating that the past behavior of markets does not show what markets will do in the future, let alone what markets “do” in some kind of generalized eternal present.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026
He explains that he feels "very strongly" about the issue and says we need to put in "the hard work of divesting our attention and reconnecting with eternal things like nature".
From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026
Sean Penn, Hollywood's eternal rebel, on Sunday won a third Oscar for his comic yet terrifying portrayal of an absurdly uptight soldier ashamed of his past in "One Battle After Another."
From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026
“You will feed the eternal darkness,” Akhlys said.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
