as in celestial
of, relating to, or suggesting heaven
movie scenes set in heaven often suggest that harps are the favored instruments for empyrean music
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in sky
a dwelling place of perfect happiness for the soul after death
ascended into the empyrean after a life filled with good deeds
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in utopia
an often imaginary place or state of utter perfection and happiness
most ticket buyers have no trouble envisioning the empyrean that winning the lottery would inevitably bring about
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of empyrean
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025
Larraín’s third subject, Maria Callas, despite being born to an ignoble family and having to face wartime poverty during the 1940s, was no stranger to the trappings of an empyrean existence, but in constantly having to live up to it, like Diana, her life met an untimely end.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 15 Dec. 2024
The event, held high up in skyscraping event venue Glasshouse Chelsea, offered sweeping vista views of the Manhattan and New Jersey skylines meant to evoke the game’s new empyrean setting.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 26 Apr. 2023
At their best, Harjo’s poems inform each other, linking her different modes, facilitating her tendency to zoom from a personal experience to a more empyrean one.
—Maya Phillips, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2019
Louis leaves Prior, drawing the first line in a pattern of abandonment that informs the entire play, and finally stretches all the way into the empyrean kingdom of an absent God.
—Ben Brantley, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2018
Our badges looked different, we were afforded fewer privileges, and we were certainly kept in the dark about The Algorithm (pause for heavenly-choir noise effect) and other such empyrean secrets.
—Lucas Peterson, GQ, 22 May 2017
Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 18 July 2022
Magical empyrean is mundane Earth.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2022
They are concealed in the empyrean.
—Frank Wilczek, WSJ, 14 Oct. 2021
O’Keeffe places the viewer aloft, level with the bone, high up in the empyrean.
—Roxana Robinson, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2021
That could quickly propel a few black schools into the athletic empyrean, and change the place of HBCUs in American culture.
—Jemele Hill, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2019
Adjective
In October, with three more of her novels now available in English and at least 20 other languages, the Swedish Academy awarded Han the Nobel Prize, elevating her to the empyrean realm reserved for writers of what is sometimes called world literature.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025
Larraín’s third subject, Maria Callas, despite being born to an ignoble family and having to face wartime poverty during the 1940s, was no stranger to the trappings of an empyrean existence, but in constantly having to live up to it, like Diana, her life met an untimely end.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 15 Dec. 2024
The event, held high up in skyscraping event venue Glasshouse Chelsea, offered sweeping vista views of the Manhattan and New Jersey skylines meant to evoke the game’s new empyrean setting.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 26 Apr. 2023
At their best, Harjo’s poems inform each other, linking her different modes, facilitating her tendency to zoom from a personal experience to a more empyrean one.
—Maya Phillips, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2019
Louis leaves Prior, drawing the first line in a pattern of abandonment that informs the entire play, and finally stretches all the way into the empyrean kingdom of an absent God.
—Ben Brantley, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2018
Our badges looked different, we were afforded fewer privileges, and we were certainly kept in the dark about The Algorithm (pause for heavenly-choir noise effect) and other such empyrean secrets.
—Lucas Peterson, GQ, 22 May 2017
Noun
Betts is part of the Sox Sensation club with Fred Lynn and Nomar Garciaparra, all wildly popular and productive players who turned out to be supernovas streaking across the Boston baseball empyrean instead of franchise polestars.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 18 July 2022
Magical empyrean is mundane Earth.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2022
They are concealed in the empyrean.
—Frank Wilczek, WSJ, 14 Oct. 2021
O’Keeffe places the viewer aloft, level with the bone, high up in the empyrean.
—Roxana Robinson, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2021
That could quickly propel a few black schools into the athletic empyrean, and change the place of HBCUs in American culture.
—Jemele Hill, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for empyrean
Adjective
-
Little red dots are one of the most curious celestial objects viewed thus far by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
According to Einstein’s theory of gravity, known as general relativity, massive, dense celestial objects bend space and time.—
Chad Hanna,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Drones light up the Burbank sky.—
David Hochman,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Smoke persisted until the inversion lifted late this morning, followed by mostly sunny skies.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This classic in speculative fiction describes a seeming utopia with a dark secret about the idyllic lifestyle of (almost) all of its residents.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
10 Sep. 2025
-
That said, the road to AI utopia is paved with data pipelines, integration headaches and a dev team that’s definitely going to ask for more cloud budget.—
Andrew Siemer,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The merriment turned bittersweet when the camera panned over to the late, great Maggie Smith as the legendary Dowager Countess, followed by a heavenly shot of Jessica Brown Findlay as poor Lady Sybil, who died shortly after giving birth in Season 3.—
Andy Swift,
TVLine,
13 Sep. 2025
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Schedule in for a heavenly hammam treatment at Joali Maldives, one of just a few in the country with this traditional treatment.—
Katie Lockhart,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Those few extra inches are the difference between sitting pretty and reclining in bliss.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
10 Sep. 2025
-
For three-quarters of its pages, the book reads like a paean to dope, a lyrical testament to the transcendent bliss of the first time using, and to the futile effort to recapture it.—
Scott Stossel,
The Atlantic,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
For example, their Palm Beach paradise is a world away from their bespoke Greenwich manor, which differs completely from their retro-glam 1970s-style Miami home and their vacation house on Mustique.—
Lisa Lockwood,
Footwear News,
16 Sep. 2025
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The yachts which have thronged the bay are fewer as summer gives way to fall, but the off-season quiet has its own appeal for visitors wanting a slice of paradise to themselves.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Neon lights and a checkerboard stage added to the ‘80s vibe of the song, while a musician playing a keytar with hair-teased-to-heavens cemented the influence of the decade on Doja’s sound.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
8 Sep. 2025
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The great Albert Brooks film Defending Your Life, from 1991, imagines a bureaucratic heaven that prepares the recently departed for their next phase of existence.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Empyrean.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/empyrean. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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