supernal
/suːˈpɜː.nəl/US/suˈpɝ.nəl/
supernal adjective: pertaining to heaven or to the sky; celestial.
Adjective
supernal (comparative more supernal, superlative most supernal)
- Pertaining to heaven or to the sky; celestial.
- The sweet, gentle, pious, Ocean-nymphs, who in the Prometheus of Æschylus appear as the consolers and advisers of its dignified hero, seem to hold a nearly similar relation with man to the supernal gods.1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume II, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 227
- […]and there, after due prayers to the gods who dwell in ether supernal, had taken solemn counsel whereby they might, if so be it might be, bring once more into honour among mortal men the winged speech of the seadivided Gael.1922 February 2, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC
- Exalted, exquisite, superlative.
- Even the sunlight assumed a supernal glamour, as if some special atmosphere or exhalation mantled the whole region.1931, H. P. Lovecraft, “chapter 6”, in The Whisperer in Darkness
- Pig, not normally reticent in these matters, now acted like a mystic after a vision; unable, maybe unwilling, to put in words this ineffable or supernal talent of Panky’s.1963, Thomas Pynchon, V.
Synonyms of supernal
Antonyms
Forms of supernal
| comparative | more supernal |
|---|---|
| superlative | most supernal |
Origin of supernal
From Old French supernel or Medieval Latin supernālis, from Latin supernus, from superum (“celestial regions, heavenly bodies”).
Words formed from supernal
Words that rhyme with supernal
- kernel
- external
- internal
- colonel
- diurnal
- infernal
- journal
- eternal
- fraternal
- paternal
- maternal
- hyosternal
40 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- nocturnal
- sempiternal
- vernal
- anteroexternal
- anterointernal
- antesternal
- asternal
- chondrosternal
- coeternal
- coracosternal
- costosternal
- coxosternal
- dorsoexternal
- dorsointernal
- episternal
- hesternal
- hodiernal
- infrasternal
- intersternal
- latisternal
- mesosternal
- metasternal
- midsternal
- nonexternal
- noninternal
- parasternal
- peristernal
- posteroexternal
- posterointernal
- poststernal
- presternal
- retrosternal
- sternal
- substernal
- supersternal
- suprasternal
- ternal
- tracheosternal
- transsternal
- vertebrosternal
Questions about supernal
- What does supernal mean?
- Supernal means pertaining to heaven or to the sky; celestial.
- What part of speech is supernal?
- Supernal is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce supernal?
- Supernal is pronounced /suːˈpɜː.nəl/ (UK).
Words near supernal in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: supernal (page history and authors). 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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-supernal.wav.
Cite this entry: “supernal.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/supernal. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
