noun
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the condition or quality of being final or settled; conclusiveness
the finality of death
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a final or conclusive act
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metaphysics the doctrine of the efficacy of final causes Compare teleology
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of finality
Explanation
Finality is the absolute, definite end. People often speak of the finality of death — nothing comes after it and nothing that came before it can be changed. If someone speaks with absolute finality, he is not going to change his mind. The sound of a judge's gavel slamming down gives a sense of finality to his or her judgment. Because of its association with death and closure, finality often carries a somber undertone. It can also be used in conjunction with the end of a sports season. But even the finality of the seventh game of a classic World Series is usually forgotten by the time spring training rolls around.
Vocabulary lists containing finality
The Haunting of Hill House
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Bunnicula
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X: A Novel
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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:
"There's been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet. We're hoping that will happen very shortly," he told reporters at the State Department.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Not everyone heeds the finality of the message, however, as frantic family and friends refuse to give up on loved ones trapped under the debris.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
The immediate aftermath of Susan Collins’ 2020 win had an air of finality to it.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
“I don’t have an answer,” he admits with a sense of finality.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
‘More than anything else in my life,’ the professor told the reporter with finality, ‘these books have made me all that I am.’
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
Far from an ideal of Norman Rockwell hominess, Lake Wobegon reverberates with terror and finalities.
From Time Magazine Archive
Heroic pronouncements, grandiose, soul-satisfying finalities, were not his style.
From Time Magazine Archive
When Italy last September heard of your movement we realized that, though different in method, our two revolutions had the same finalities.
From Time Magazine Archive
The letter went on to discuss a few finalities involving insurance and Mr. Kaiserman and to explain that Reggie’s file could be expunged and the court records sealed.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
The school dwells upon the saving power of land, and learning, and skill, and a bank-account—not as finalities in themselves, but as tangible witnesses to the Negro's capacity to compete with others.
From Tuskegee & Its People: Their Ideals and Achievements by Booker T. Washington
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.
