eventually
Americanadverb
adverb
-
at the very end; finally
-
(as sentence modifier) after a long time or long delay
eventually, he arrived
Etymology
Origin of eventually
Explanation
Eventually refers to an unspecific time when something will be completed, and it usually suggests it won't be done soon. Think of eventually being said with a big sigh, as though the speaker knows that it will take a long time before something will be finished. Still, it does allow for the hope that, although it might not be anytime soon, it will be done at last — a promise fulfilled. Not now, maybe, but eventually.
Vocabulary lists containing eventually
"Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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"In the Spotlight," Vocabulary from the informational text
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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.
The tense meeting eventually yielded an investment of hundreds of millions in MP Materials, giving the U.S. a 15% stake in a major domestic producer of rare-earth materials.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
They proceeded to buy and sell the token themselves to build a price history that would eventually fool Drift’s automated protocols into accepting the fake token as real collateral.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
“Therefore, what begins as a series of small failures eventually grows into large and costly ones.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026
The 1970s saw the business rapidly expand, with Laney setting up a large-scale manufacturing unit in Digbeth, Birmingham, eventually relocating to its current Halesowen home in 2004.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
And the king, loving gold as he did, would get his hands on it eventually, and then, of course, he would wonder.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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.
