ethereal
Syllables: ether·ealUK/ɪˈθɪə.ɹɪ.əl//ɪˈθɪɚ.i.əl/
ethereal adjective: pertaining to the presupposition of an invisible air-like element permeating all of space, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere. Also the ellipsis of ethereal wave.
Adjective
ethereal (comparative more ethereal, superlative most ethereal)
- Pertaining to the presupposition of an invisible air-like element permeating all of space, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere.
- Near-synonyms: aereous, celestial
- ethereal space
- Antonyms:
- earthly
- Pertaining to the immaterial realm, as symbolically represented by, or (in earlier epochs) conflated with, such atmospheric and extra-atmospheric concepts.
- Near-synonyms: celestial, incorporeal, insubstantial, intangible, spiritual, uncorporeal, mystical, otherworldly, transcendental; see also Thesaurus:cosmic
- Sure he preſum'd of praiſe, vvho came to ſtock / Th' etherial paſtures vvith ſo fair a flock; / Burniſh'd, and bat'ning on their food, to ſhovv / The diligence of carefull herds belovv.1687, [John Dryden], “[The First Part]”, in The Hind and the Panther. A Poem, in Three Parts, 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, page 22
- Synonyms:
- celestial, incorporeal, insubstantial, intangible, spiritual, uncorporeal, mystical, otherworldly, transcendental, cosmic
- Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.
- Vaſt chain of being ! which from God began, / Ethereal Eſſence, Spirit, Subſtance, Man, / Beaſt, Bird, Fiſh, Inſect ! [...]1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], epistle I, London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC, page 14, lines 237–239
- Strange mystery of our nature, that those in whom genius developes itself in imagination, thus taking its most ethereal form, should yet be the most dependent on the opinions of others!1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter I, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 3
Also used as
ethereal is also the ellipsis of ethereal wave.
ethereal meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali
ethereal in Hindi
- consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy
- स्वर्गिक svargik, पारलौकिक pārlaukik, आकाशीय ākāśīya
ethereal in Marathi
- ईथरियल, ईथेरियल
ethereal in Urdu
- ایتھریل, ایتھریئل
ethereal in Bengali
- ইথেরিয়াল
More languagesFewer languages
- ethereal in Telugu
- ఎథెరియల్, ఈథెరియల్
- ethereal in Malayalam
- എഥെരിയൽ, എഥെറിയൽ, എഥെറൽ
- ethereal in Kannada
- ಎಥೆರಿಯಲ್
- ethereal in Punjabi
- ਈਥਰੀਅਲ, ਈਥਰਿਅਲ
- ethereal in Gujarati
- ઈથેરીયલ, ઈથેરિયલ
- ethereal in Odia
- ଇଥେରିଆଲ୍
- ethereal in Nepali
- इथेरियल, एथेरियल
Examples of ethereal in a sentence
- Since to part, / Go heavenly Gueſt, Ethereal Meſſenger, / Sent from whoſe ſovran goodneſs I adore.1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by...
- It is a fever ethereal and lovely; but, like all other fevers, leaving behind weakness and exhaustion.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 25–26:
- I trust that we shall be more imaginative, that our thoughts will be clearer, fresher, and more ethereal, as our sky,[…]1862, Henry David Thoreau, “Walking”, in The Atlantic Monthly, volume 9, number 56:
- The innocent if lawless elf, / Ethereal in virginity, / Retains the consciousness of self.1876, Herman Melville, “Canto XXII. Of Rama.”, in Walter E. Bezanson, editor, Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land […], New York...
Synonyms of ethereal
- aetheric
- etheric
- aereous
- celestial
- incorporeal
- insubstantial
- intangible
- spiritual
- uncorporeal
- mystical
25 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of ethereal
| comparative | more ethereal |
|---|---|
| superlative | most ethereal |
| alternative form | aethereal |
| alternative form | aetherial |
| alternative form (archaic) | æthereal |
| alternative form (archaic) | ætherial |
| alternative form (obsolete) | æthereall |
| alternative form (obsolete) | ætheriall |
Origin of ethereal
From Latin aetherius (“of or pertaining to the ether, the sky, Heaven or the air or upper air”), from Ancient Greek αἰθέριος (aithérios, “of or pertaining to the upper air”). By surface analysis, ether + -ial.
Words formed from ethereal
Questions about ethereal
- What does ethereal mean?
- Ethereal means pertaining to the presupposition of an invisible air-like element permeating all of space, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere.
- What is ethereal in Hindi?
- Ethereal in Hindi is स्वर्गिक (svargik), पारलौकिक (pārlaukik), आकाशीय (ākāśīya). See Ethereal meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use ethereal in a sentence?
- Since to part, / Go heavenly Gueſt, Ethereal Meſſenger, / Sent from whoſe ſovran goodneſs I adore.
- What part of speech is ethereal?
- Ethereal is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce ethereal?
- Ethereal is pronounced /ɪˈθɪə.ɹɪ.əl/ (UK).
Words near ethereal in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ethereal (page history and authors); ethereal (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ethereal (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ethereal (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ethereal (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ethereal (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ethereal (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ethereal (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ethereal (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ethereal (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ethereal (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “ethereal.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ethereal. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.