Mark 10:17 (Revised Standard Version)William Shakespeare
Synonyms
Examples of eternal in a Sentence
Christopher Maag, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2023
Jordan, by contrast, is an eternal optimist; there’s no frustration that a random hook-up and a few thousand likes can’t chase away.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2023
At midnight on September 8, the late great Jimmy Buffett released three new singles from that eternal five o’clock up in the sky.
—Vulture, 8 Sep. 2023
Hope springs eternal, and there’s a compelling new call for reform.
—James Freeman, WSJ, 16 Aug. 2023
On June 9, amid all this talk of eternal life and extinction, hundreds of people filled the pews during a service at St. Paul’s Church in Fürth, Germany, a 1,000-year-old village in northern Bavaria.
—David Kushner, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2023
My eternal respect and gratitude to you, my friend.
—Country Living Staff, Country Living, 3 Sep. 2023
The many scenes at Tanglewood or in Connecticut give the impression of eternal summer — a motif echoed in an Edna St. Vincent Millay poem — taking on more muted tones as Felicia’s health declines.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Sep. 2023
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
—Terry Pluto, cleveland, 2 Sep. 2023
Ligaya Mishan Melody Melamed, New York Times, 23 Nov. 2022
But anyone capable of transcending the eternal now of the news cycle and recalling the debates of a decade ago might hear echoes in the Lemoine story of quite another dispute about personhood and language.
—Sasha Frere-Jones, Harper’s Magazine , 9 Nov. 2022
These ancient seas and islands offer some reassuring glimpse of the eternal.
—Stanley Stewart, Travel + Leisure, 24 Apr. 2022
Youth, like hope, seemingly springs eternal at the dawn of a new season.
—New York Times, 8 Apr. 2022
But hope springs eternal, maybe more so in baseball than anywhere else.
—John Wilkens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Apr. 2022
More significantly, if life eternal is to know the only true God, as John 17:3 states, is their salvation at stake?
—The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 Mar. 2022
Hope wasn’t given much of a chance to spring eternal on Monday for the Diamondbacks.
—Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 14 Mar. 2022
Hope springs eternal, though, as the two never confirmed their breakup with an official statement.
—Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2022
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eternal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Adjective
Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin aeternalis, from Latin aeternus eternal, from aevum age, eternity — more at aye
Adjective
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Noun
1573, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing eternal
Dictionary Entries Near eternal
Cite this Entry
“Eternal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eternal. Accessed 22 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
eternal
adjective
More from Merriam-Webster on eternal
Nglish: Translation of eternal for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of eternal for Arabic Speakers
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