Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
Eternal - 5 dictionary results

e⋅ter⋅nal

  [i-tur-nl]
Use Eternal in a Sentence
–adjective
1. without beginning or end; lasting forever; always existing (opposed to temporal ): eternal life.
2. perpetual; ceaseless; endless: eternal quarreling; eternal chatter.
3. enduring; immutable: eternal principles.
4. Metaphysics. existing outside all relations of time; not subject to change.
–noun
5. something that is eternal.
6. the Eternal, God.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < LL aeternālis, equiv. to aetern(us) (see eterne ) + -ālis -al 1

Related forms:
e⋅ter⋅nal⋅i⋅ty  [ee-tur-nal-i-tee] , e⋅ter⋅nal⋅ness, noun
e⋅ter⋅nal⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. permanent, unending. Eternal, endless, everlasting, perpetual imply lasting or going on without ceasing. That which is eternal is, by its nature, without beginning or end: God, the eternal Father. That which is endless never stops but goes on continuously as if in a circle: an endless succession of years. That which is everlasting will endure through all future time: a promise of everlasting life. Perpeptual implies continuous renewal as far into the future as one can foresee: perpetual strife between nations. 3. timeless, immortal, deathless, undying, imperishable, indestructible.

Antonyms:
1. transitory. 3. mutable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Eternal
e·ter·nal   (ĭ-tûr'nəl)   
adj.  
  1. Being without beginning or end; existing outside of time. See Synonyms at infinite.
  2. Continuing without interruption; perpetual.
  3. Forever true or changeless: eternal truths.
  4. Seemingly endless; interminable. See Synonyms at ageless, continual.
  5. Of or relating to spiritual communion with God, especially in the afterlife.
n.  
  1. Something timeless, uninterrupted, or endless.
  2. Eternal God. Used with the.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin aeternālis, from Latin aeternus; see aiw- in Indo-European roots.]
e'ter·nal'i·ty (ē'tər-nāl'ĭ-tē), e·ter'nal·ness n., e·ter'nal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Eternal

E*ter"nal\, a. [F. ['e]ternel, L. aeternalis, fr. aeternus. See Etern.]

1. Without beginning or end of existence; always existing.

The eternal God is thy refuge. --Deut. xxxiii. 27.

To know wether there were any real being, whose duration has been eternal. --Locke.

2. Without end of existence or duration; everlasting; endless; immortal.

That they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. --2 Tim. ii. 10.

3. Continued without intermission; perpetual; ceaseless; constant.

And fires eternal in thy temple shine. --Dryden.

4. Existing at all times without change; immutable.

Hobbes believed the eternal truths which he opposed. --Dryden.

What are the eternal objects of poetry among all nations, and at all times? --M. Arnold.

5. Exceedingly great or bad; -- used as a strong intensive. "Some eternal villain."

The Eternal City, an appellation of Rome.

Syn: Everlasting; endless; infinite; ceaseless; perpetual; interminable. See Everlasting.

Eternal

E*ter"nal\, n. 1. One of the appellations of God.

Law whereby the Eternal himself doth work. --Hooker.

2. That which is endless and immortal. --Young.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : Eternal
Spanish: eterno,
German: ewig,
Japanese: 永遠の
More Translations »

eternal 
c.1366 (in variant form eterne), from O.Fr. eternal, from L.L. æternalis, from L. æternus contraction of æviternus "of great age," from ævum "age." Eternity first attested c.1374. In the Mercian hymns, L. æternum is glossed by O.E. ecnisse.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Eternal on Thesaurus | Reference