Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Lasting forever; without end or beginning: Existing outside of time; having infinite duration with no start or finish.
   • Seemingly endless; perpetual: Used to describe something that feels as if it will never stop, often in a negative or tiresome context.
   • Valid for all time; unchanging: Describing truths, principles, or qualities that are absolute and timeless.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • Many religions believe in the eternal soul. (The soul is considered to exist forever.)
  • Their eternal bickering drove everyone else from the room. (Their constant, seemingly endless arguing was very annoying.)
  • The quest for eternal truth is a common theme in philosophy. (The search for truths that are valid for all time.)

Advanced Usage

• "The Eternal": A formal or literary term used as a name for God, implying a being who exists outside of time.
  • The poet sought guidance from the Eternal.
• "Eternal rest": A euphemistic phrase meaning death or the state of being in heaven.
  • May she find eternal rest.
• "Eternal triangle": A classic dramatic situation involving a romantic rivalry between two people over a third.
  • The film is a modern take on the eternal triangle.

Variants and Related Words

• Eternally (adverb): In an eternal manner; forever.
  • I am eternally grateful for your help.
• Eternity (noun): Infinite or unending time; a state of existence outside of time.
  • The universe has existed for what seems like an eternity.
• Eternalize (verb, less common): To make eternal; to perpetuate.
  • The artist hoped to eternalize the moment in bronze.

Synonyms

• Everlasting: Lasting forever (often with a positive or divine connotation).
• Perpetual: Never ending or changing; occurring repeatedly.
• Endless: Having no end, especially in a tedious or spatial sense.
• Timeless: Not affected by the passage of time; eternal in quality.

Antonyms

• Temporary: Lasting for only a limited period.
• Fleeting: Lasting for a very short time.
• Ephemeral: Lasting for a very short time; transient.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Eternal flame: A flame that is kept burning continuously as a memorial.
  • They visited the eternal flame at the war memorial.
• Eternal verities: Fundamental and unchanging truths about life and human nature.
  • The novel explores the eternal verities of love and loss.
• Hope springs eternal: A proverb meaning people will always continue to hope, no matter the circumstances.
  • Even after the defeat, for the fans, hope springs eternal.

Adjective

1. tiresomely long; seemingly without end
   • endless debates
   • an endless conversation
   • the wait seemed eternal
   • eternal quarreling
   • an interminable sermon
2. continuing forever or indefinitely
   • the ageless themes of love and revenge
   • eternal truths
   • life everlasting
   • hell's perpetual fires
   • the unending bliss of heaven