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:
For the first time, I realized Dolly wasn’t immortal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
“I’m totally tickled. I’ve just been skipping up and down the street. It’s so delightful,” says the New Yorker, who was nominated for playing immortal island founder Richard Warren the day after his 50th birthday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
It was "another immortal Messi moment" according to BBC commentator Steve Bower.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Moments before Anunoby pulled off his immortal sequence, New York’s Josh Hart had missed an open layup of his own.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
He once told me that stories can make someone immortal as long as someone else is willing to listen.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
Then Kent predicted that Baker will return next year to take his place among baseball’s immortals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
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
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
Overwhelmed by this newfound ability to converse with spirits, Capron, like almost all early participants, was so caught up in the world of immortals, that he didn’t take much note of human actions.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
