eter·nal
i-ˈtər-nᵊl 
1
a
: having infinite duration : everlasting
eternal damnation
b
: of or relating to eternity
c
: characterized by abiding fellowship with God
Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?—
Mark 10:17 (Revised Standard Version)
Mark 10:17 (Revised Standard Version)2
a
: continued without end or interruption : perpetual
an eternal flame
b
: seemingly endless
eternal delays
3
archaic
: infernal
… some eternal villain / … / … devised this slander—William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare4
: valid or existing at all times : timeless
eternal verities
1
Eternal
: god sense 1
—used with the
2
: something eternal
Examples of eternal in a Sentence
Adjective
the eternal flames of hell
in search of eternal wisdom
When will his eternal whining stop?
Noun
spent much time pondering the nature of the Eternal
Recent Examples on the Web
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
The eternal optimist, Rajaković is not wrong about any of that.
—Eric Koreen, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Lewis Hyde, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
Its charms are straightforward, appealing to the eternal giggly adolescent in all of us.
—Ligaya Mishan Melody Melamed, New York Times, 23 Nov. 2022
See All Example Sentences for eternal
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Adjective
The sweeping romance set across three decades of passion, loss, and hope in Beirut stars Hassan Akil and Mounia Akl as Nino and Yasmina, star-crossed lovers bound by a magnetic relationship, one an eternal optimist and the other an impulsive pragmatist.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
The eternal optimist, Rajaković is not wrong about any of that.
—Eric Koreen, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Noun
Some cultures, Eliade shows, preserve their eternals by simply denying the force of history; in Lyell’s case, the culture at hand was Christianity, and the ideal was the unique status of humankind.
—Lewis Hyde, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
Its charms are straightforward, appealing to the eternal giggly adolescent in all of us.
—Ligaya Mishan Melody Melamed, New York Times, 23 Nov. 2022
See All Example Sentences for eternal
Cite this Entry
“Eternal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eternal. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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