ethereal
[ih-theer-ee-uh l]
- light, airy, or tenuous: an ethereal world created through the poetic imagination.
- extremely delicate or refined: ethereal beauty.
- heavenly or celestial: gone to his ethereal home.
- of or relating to the upper regions of space.
- Chemistry. pertaining to, containing, or resembling ethyl ether.
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Also ae·the·re·al (for defs 1–4).
Origin of ethereal
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for ethereally
easily, delicately, casually, tenderly, moderately, gingerly, softly, simply, mildly, freely, quietly, slightly, sparsely, faintly, subtly, carelessly, indifferently, nimbly, peacefully, readilyExamples from the Web for ethereally
Contemporary Examples of ethereally
His ethereally beautiful girlfriend, Marina, was with him, sitting silent in front of an untouched cocktail.
Historical Examples of ethereally
He was drunk, ethereally drunk with the beauty of the night and with love.
If You Touch Them They VanishGouverneur Morris
He turned his head, and saw a dim, ethereally white figure,—Rose.
'Smiles'Eliot H. Robinson
All the girls were beautiful—delicately, ethereally beautiful.
The House of PrideJack London
She was ethereally slender, brown-eyed, brown-haired, brown-skinned.
Where were the flames that had sung to me ethereally before?
Children of the Market PlaceEdgar Lee Masters
ethereal
- extremely delicate or refined; exquisite
- almost as light as air; impalpable; airy
- celestial or spiritual
- of, containing, or dissolved in an ether, esp diethyl etheran ethereal solution
- of or relating to the ether
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Word Origin for ethereal
C16: from Latin aethereus, from Greek aitherios, from aithēr ether
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for ethereally
ethereal
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
ethereal
(ĭ-thîr′ē-əl)- Characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; intangible.
- Of, relating to, or containing ether.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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