ethereal

[ ih-theer-ee-uhl ]

adjective

1. light, airy, or tenuous:

   an ethereal world created through the poetic imagination.

2. extremely delicate or refined:

   ethereal beauty.

3. heavenly or celestial:

   gone to his ethereal home.

4. of or relating to the upper regions of space.
5. Chemistry. pertaining to, containing, or resembling ether.

ethereal

/ ɪˈθɪərɪəl /

adjective

1. extremely delicate or refined; exquisite
2. almost as light as air; impalpable; airy
3. celestial or spiritual
4. of, containing, or dissolved in an ether, esp diethyl ether

   an ethereal solution

5. of or relating to the ether

Derived Forms

• eˈthereally, adverb
• eˌthereˈality, noun

Other Words From

• e·there·ali·ty e·there·al·ness noun
• e·there·al·ly adverb
• e·there·ous adjective
• none·there·al adjective
• none·there·al·ly adverb
• none·there·al·ness noun
• none·there·ali·ty noun
• une·there·al adjective
• une·there·al·ly adverb
• une·there·al·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ethereal¹

First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin aethere(us) (from Greek aithérios ), equivalent to aether- ether + -eus adjective suffix + -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of ethereal¹

C16: from Latin aethereus, from Greek aitherios, from aithēr ether

Example Sentences

Climate change was not some distant temperature target to be hit in the ethereal future.

From Science News

Back then, “Tidal” lived somewhere between Morissette’s bracing bluntness and the ethereal poetry of Tori Amos.

From Washington Post

The ethereal quality of the bread persuaded Drewno that he needed a spread that wouldn’t saturate it in fat, which is why he started to whip butter before applying it to the slices.

From Washington Post

In Signature’s “Midnight at the Never Get,” the lack of an audience feels part and parcel with the show’s ethereal setting.

From Washington Post

Advocating that Google is headed towards increased search equity by pointing to an almost ethereal element, that is, the search engine’s ability to more naturally understand content is a bit abstract.

From Search Engine Watch

Bitcoin began 2013 with a roaring price of $770 per unit, and businesses right and left were converting to the ethereal product.

From The Daily Beast

But when modern-day conservationists surveyed the offshore rocks they discovered something even more ethereal lurking within.

From The Daily Beast

One skeleton in particular has become famous for the brutal way she died and the ethereal way her body was preserved.

From The Daily Beast

C, lastly, I just think [Perritaz] has a natural taste for purity, delicacy, and ethereal balance.

From The Daily Beast

I remember telling people at the time, ‘This kid is so ethereal and interesting.’

From The Daily Beast

Her white face looked ethereal in the moonlight, and her bloodless lips were quivering with returning life.

From Project Gutenberg

It may be applied directly to a suspected fluid, or, better, to the ethereal extract.

From Project Gutenberg

Madame Colleville was a Parisian, piquant, winning and pretty, as well as clever and ethereal.

From Project Gutenberg

Again he sat in the soft darkness, before the ghostly glimmer of the silk, tracing upon it visions of ethereal light.

From Project Gutenberg

See the ideal and ethereal being whom you have been so faithfully impersonating all the afternoon!

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• airy
• celestial
• exquisite
• ghostly
• intangible
• sublime