eternity

noun

eter·​ni·​ty i-ˈtər-nə-tē 

plural eternities

1

: the quality or state of being eternal

2

: infinite time

lasting throughout eternity

3

eternities plural : age sense 3b

4

: the state after death : immortality

5

: a seemingly endless or immeasurable time

an eternity of delays

Synonyms of eternity

• perpetuity
• infinity
• foreverness

Examples of eternity in a Sentence

They believed that sinners would spend eternity in hell.

We suffered through an eternity of delays during the lawsuit.

Recent Examples on the Web

Once again, Towns, who hadn’t gotten into foul trouble in what felt like a basketball eternity, pulled off a series of blunders, picking up two fouls in the game’s opening 62 seconds. —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 11 June 2026

That timeframe is an eternity in a fast-moving industry; Kalshi and Polymarket have gone from valuations in the hundreds of millions to tens of billions in about 11 months. —Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 10 June 2026

The fly ball hung in the air for six seconds exactly, a sliver of time that felt akin to an eternity. —Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 10 June 2026

The vampires take Louis to their crypt, lock him in a coffin, and cover him with rocks to starve for the rest of eternity. —Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English eternite, from Middle French eternité, from Latin aeternitat-, aeternitas, from aeternus

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for eternity

• fraternity
• maternity
• modernity
• paternity
• confraternity
• taciturnity

Kids Definition

eternity

noun

eter·​ni·​ty i-ˈtər-nət-ē 

plural eternities

1

: the quality or state of being eternal

2

: endless time

3

: the state after death : immortality

4

: time that seems to be endless