ethereal

adjective

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ethe·re·al | \ i-ˈthir-ē-əl

Essential Meaning of ethereal

formal

1 : in heaven ethereal heights

2 : resembling heaven : seeming to belong to another world The windows give the church an ethereal glow. ethereal music

3 : very delicate an ethereal ballet dancer ethereal elegance His writing is filled with ethereal [=airy] abstractions.

Full Definition of ethereal

1a : of or relating to the regions beyond the earth

b : celestial, heavenly

c : unworldly, spiritual

2a : lacking material substance : immaterial, intangible

b : marked by unusual delicacy or refinement this smallest, most ethereal, and daintiest of birds— William Beebe

c : suggesting the heavens or heaven

3 : relating to, containing, or resembling a chemical ether

Other Words from ethereal Synonyms & Antonyms Did you know? Example Sentences Learn More About ethereal

Other Words from ethereal

ethereality \ i-ˌthir-ē-ˈa-lə-tē

\ noun

etherealization \ i-ˌthir-ē-ə-lə-ˈzā-shən

\ noun

etherealize \ i-ˈthir-ē-ə-ˌlīz

\ transitive verb

ethereally \ i-ˈthir-ē-ə-lē

\ adverb

etherealness noun

Did you know?

If you're burning to know the history of ethereal, you're in the right spirit to fully understand that word's etymology. The ancient Greeks believed that the Earth was composed of earth, air, fire, and water, but that the heavens and its denizens were made of a purer, less tangible substance known as either ether or quintessence. Ether was often described as an invisible light or fire, and its name derives from the Greek aithein, a verb meaning "to ignite" or "to blaze." When ethereal, the adjectival kin of ether, debuted in English in the 1500s, it referred to regions beyond the Earth or anything that seemed to originate from there.

Examples of ethereal in a Sentence

The windows give the church an ethereal glow. that ethereal attribute that every performer should have—charisma

Recent Examples on the Web Over the millennia, the flute has come to be seen as delicate, decorous, ethereal. — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Dec. 2021 Or, for a more ethereal effect, try eyelighting all around the eye, blending various icy shades together to create a kaleidoscope of color and light. — Lottie Winter, Glamour, 23 Sep. 2021 Like the ethereal Hatsune Miku, Avedon is visually represented by an avatar. — Kate Knibbs, Wired, 16 Dec. 2021 As fashionable haunts in New York go, Omen was an unlikely candidate, and Mr. Shinagawa, a serene, silver-haired man raised in Kyoto who wore Comme des Garçons suits, was its ethereal anti-restaurateur. — Alex Vadukul, New York Times, 12 Dec. 2021 Singer-songwriter Lillie West is an ethereal goddess floating on a collection of songs with her third project as Lala Lala. — BostonGlobe.com, 10 Dec. 2021 For centuries scientists puzzled as to how anything could be alive, imagining there must be some kind of ethereal life force that animates matter. — Julian Baggini, WSJ, 9 Dec. 2021 Wearing an ethereal silver eyeshadow and a glimmering lip color, Kourtney, 41, strikes a fun pose with her hands spread out in front of her face for the first snapshot. — Charmaine Patterson, PEOPLE.com, 9 Dec. 2021 In experiments soon thereafter, Marr added a third note for a leafy, ethereal aspect. — Scott Sayare, Harper's Magazine, 23 Nov. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ethereal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.