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

The manager and infielder, who climbed the same baseball ladder from the Gulf Coast League to Game 7, held for an eternity. —Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025

Of all the sins that might damn your soul for eternity, mumbling is probably pretty far down the list. —JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025

But that couldn’t have been the case for an eternity, and science has proven it. —Big Think, 24 Oct. 2025

Giordano describes the blockchain as a great, big virtual filing cabinet, where billions of records can live into eternity without risk. —Diana Olick, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2025

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