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

• everlasting
• foreverness
• infinity
• perpetuity

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 son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and a player once thought to be a potential No. 1 pick found himself in a similar spot as Aaron Rodgers, Brady Quinn, Geno Smith and all those other NFL quarterbacks who famously languished in that eternity of a limbo. —Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2025

The sacrifice meant the lovers were separated for eternity. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2025

Smoke and Annie get to be together for eternity in the spiritual realm, while Stack and Mary stay together in the physical world as vampires. —Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 18 Apr. 2025

An eternity stretches between now and any real moves in the Democratic Party’s next presidential nominating contest. —Philip Elliott, Time, 17 Apr. 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