everlasting

[ev-er-las-ting, -lah-sting]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR everlasting ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

lasting forever; eternal: everlasting future life.

lasting or continuing for an indefinitely long time: the everlasting hills.

incessant; constantly recurring: He is plagued by everlasting attacks of influenza.

wearisome; tedious: She tired of his everlasting puns.

noun

eternal duration; eternity: What is the span of one life compared with the everlasting?

the Everlasting, God.

any of various plants that retain their shape or color when dried, as certain composite plants of the genera Helichrysum, Gnaphalium, and Helipterum.

Origin of everlasting

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at ever, lasting

Related formsev·er·last·ing·ly, adverbev·er·last·ing·ness, nounqua·si-ev·er·last·ing, adjectivequa·si-ev·er·last·ing·ly, adverb

Synonyms for everlasting

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR everlasting ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See eternal.

Antonyms for everlasting

1. transitory.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for everlasting

eternal, perpetual, timeless, immortal, unending, abiding, lasting, permanent, constant, boundless, ceaseless, continual, continuous, deathless, endless, imperishable, incessant, indestructible, interminable, limitless

Examples from the Web for everlasting

Contemporary Examples of everlasting

Her second affair was far deeper, tragic and, in its effects, everlasting.
Gertrude of Arabia, the Woman Who Invented Iraq
Clive Irving
June 17, 2014
The old man has been there and left his tracks in everlasting snow.
Pete Dexter’s Indelible Portrait of Author Norman Maclean
Pete Dexter
March 23, 2014
But I never want us to regret our everlasting national connection to Hebron.
Despite Hebron's Importance, Israel Will Have to Give It Up
Samuel Lebens
October 28, 2013
So, to the everlasting shame of President Ronald Reagan, the U.S. did nothing to stop his genocide.
Bashar the Terrible
Justin Green
April 26, 2013
The Daily Pic: Jan Brueghel sparks an everlasting debate between vision and scent.
The Eyes Have It
Blake Gopnik
March 5, 2013

Historical Examples of everlasting

As the son of God I am from everlasting to everlasting, a splendid being with the universe as my home.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
He is from everlasting to everlasting—such as creation's dawn beheld he fooleth now.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
The material can cope with the eternal only in virtue of everlasting evanescence.
Miracles of Our Lord
George MacDonald
The everlasting quotation-lover doats on the husks of learning.
Tales And Novels, Volume 9 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
For the first time she was vaguely perceiving that life is everlasting movement.
Alice Adams
Booth Tarkington

British Dictionary definitions for everlasting

everlasting

adjective

never coming to an end; eternal

lasting for an indefinitely long period

lasting so long or occurring so often as to become tedious; incessantI cannot bear her everlasting complaints

noun

endless duration; eternity

Also called: everlasting flower another name for immortelle See also cat's-foot

Derived Formseverlastingly, adverbeverlastingness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for everlasting

early 13c., from ever + lasting. Related: Everlastingly.