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:
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
"I've said that I will not leave the board until this investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality, and I stand by that," he added.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
“I’ve said that I will not leave the board until this investigation is well and truly over, with transparency and finality, and I stand by that,” Powell said Wednesday.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026
While that was traumatizing at the time, the finality helped my grieving.
From Slate ● Apr. 23, 2026
“Okay, Renault,” Archie said, a finality in his voice.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
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
Heroic pronouncements, grandiose, soul-satisfying finalities, were not his style.
From Time Magazine Archive
Far from an ideal of Norman Rockwell hominess, Lake Wobegon reverberates with terror and 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
Sudden and swift and light as that The ties gave, And he learned of finalities Besides the grave.
From The Second Book of Modern Verse; a selection from the work of contemporaneous American poets by Jessie Belle Rittenhouse
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.
