immortal
Americanadjective
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not mortal; not liable or subject to death; undying.
our immortal souls.
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remembered or celebrated through all time.
the immortal words of Lincoln.
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not liable to perish or decay; imperishable; everlasting.
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perpetual; lasting; constant.
an immortal enemy.
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of or relating to immortal beings or immortality.
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(of a laboratory-cultured cell line) capable of dividing indefinitely.
adjective
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not subject to death or decay; having perpetual life
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having everlasting fame; remembered throughout time
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everlasting; perpetual; constant
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of or relating to immortal beings or concepts
noun
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an immortal being
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(often plural) a person who is remembered enduringly, esp an author
Dante is one of the immortals
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of immortal
1325–75; Middle English (adj.) < Latin immortālis. See im- 2, mortal
Explanation
Immortal describes what will never die. Do you like vampires? Those blood-suckers are immortal, and will live forever — except, of course, if you drive a stake through their heart. The word immortal can refer a supernatural being who is worshipped by others, or is a divinity or God in human form, like the gods of Greek and Roman mythology. Immortal can also mean "a person whose fame lasts for many years." If you're a sports legend or a well-known author, you may be remembered as an immortal in your field. Immortal comes from the Old French word immortalité, meaning "deathlessness."
Vocabulary lists containing immortal
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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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.
See Examples For:
When Lestat is made to reckon with what’s presented as “failures” in both his mortal and immortal lives, he can’t quite own up to being a true monster, because that’s not what he really is.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
In the Catholic view, humans, uniquely, are creatures made in God’s image and likeness—endowed by him with rational, free, immortal souls and the capacity to love him and each other.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
There is nothing like the wonder of your first World Cup - the misty-eyed nostalgia of youth, summers that seemed to last forever, the gargantuan stars you believed were immortal.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
The band members chatted with The Times about recapturing the effortless essence of their immortal beach-ready sound and looking forward to a second chance to chase an endless summer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
We are entitled to feel at home in Boyle’s universe, even if it is a mechanical apparatus; it is not clear that an immortal, immaterial soul has any business feeling at home in Descartes’ universe.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Alexander Pope’s early 18th-century translation of the story of Odysseus calls the hero Ulysses and favors Roman names for the immortals of Olympus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
In six decades, Scotland have faced so many of their immortals - Tostao and Rivellino, Brito and Clodoaldo, Zico and Falcao, Romario and Careca, Roberto Carlos and Cafu, Rivaldo and Ronaldo.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
May Fernando Valenzuela join baseball’s other immortals in Cooperstown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2024
Recently, however, Dia has been adding to its pantheon of immortals with the aim of increasing the representation of women and artists of color.
From New York Times ● Feb. 29, 2024
He thought about Grandmother’s silly gold statues of Chinese immortals, her superstitions about putting furniture in certain places and avoiding unlucky numbers.
From "The Son of Neptune" 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.
