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 loved to paint religious, ethereal drawings, which inspired him to take up portrait photography.
From Los Angeles Times
At other moments, her advice is often mystical and ethereal as she paces the space with a smile.
From Los Angeles Times
Britney Spears accepting an acting award in the midst of belting out “Lucky,” and Grande as an ethereal being singing “God Is a Woman.”
From Los Angeles Times
Lying motionless on a stage draped in white fabrics, she let the album's ethereal soundscapes wash over a silent audience.
From Barron's
And yet, Smith’s persona remains veiled — sphinx-like — an ethereal presence whose journey to fame was fueled by her questing spirit and later detoured by tragedy.
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.
