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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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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
Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2022
They are concealed in the empyrean.
—Frank Wilczek, WSJ, 14 Oct. 2021
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
O’Keeffe places the viewer aloft, level with the bone, high up in the empyrean.
—Roxana Robinson, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2021
Unfortunately, for those who see Mr. Donnelly’s empyrean status less as the result of an Immaculate Kawnception and more as another harbinger of Artistic Kawpocalypse, the show will do little to change previous conceptions about him or his art.
—Brian P. Kelly, WSJ, 6 Mar. 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
Grahm reaches for the empyrean, and Locke brings him back to earth, a table full of wine bottles between them.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 14 May 2018
Grahm reaches for the empyrean, and Locke brings him back to earth, a table full of wine bottles between them.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 14 May 2018
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
Magical empyrean is mundane Earth.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2022
They are concealed in the empyrean.
—Frank Wilczek, WSJ, 14 Oct. 2021
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
O’Keeffe places the viewer aloft, level with the bone, high up in the empyrean.
—Roxana Robinson, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2021
Unfortunately, for those who see Mr. Donnelly’s empyrean status less as the result of an Immaculate Kawnception and more as another harbinger of Artistic Kawpocalypse, the show will do little to change previous conceptions about him or his art.
—Brian P. Kelly, WSJ, 6 Mar. 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
Grahm reaches for the empyrean, and Locke brings him back to earth, a table full of wine bottles between them.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 14 May 2018
Grahm reaches for the empyrean, and Locke brings him back to earth, a table full of wine bottles between them.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 14 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for empyrean
Adjective
-
Places like Antarctica, Tasmania, and New Zealand sometimes offer glimpses of the elusive southern lights, but one of the most compelling places to witness the celestial event is in Patagonia, the mountainous expanse that straddles southern Argentina and Chile.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
6 July 2025
-
Skywatchers will be treated to a striking celestial pairing soon after sunset on Monday, July 7, as the moon passes close to one of the largest stars visible to the naked eye.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
6 July 2025
Noun
-
Fireworks light up the sky over Bristol Harbor on the evening of July 3 and set the stage for July 4, with the Military, Civic and Firemen’s Parade.—
Michele Herrmann,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
-
If the sky turns ominous and thunder can be heard, find a secure place for shelter.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
30 June 2025
Noun
-
Despite the kumbaya vibes, Santa Monica High was hardly a post-racial utopia.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 July 2025
-
Socialism is generally considered to be a Marxist utopia where the people, meaning the government, control the means of production.—
Matt Fleming,
Oc Register,
23 June 2025
Adjective
-
The result is a project that transformed a site of heavenly aspirations into one of earthly delight.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
27 June 2025
-
The key to harnessing all of this energy is to plant seeds, take initiative and begin something at this time to infuse it with this heavenly vibration.—
Kyle Thomas,
People.com,
22 June 2025
Noun
-
Here, on starry evenings, there’s something wonderfully nostalgic about choosing a blockbuster from Calcot’s mammoth DVD library, strolling back to your cozy bolthole, and clinking a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to the sound of a crackling fireplace—pure, country, bliss.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
-
Kylie cemented herself as a bona fide tastemaker in the early-2000s, so prepare for pure pop bliss.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Noun
-
On this 12-mile stretch of undeveloped paradise, wild horses and 4x4s reign.—
Meghan Overdeep,
Southern Living,
5 July 2025
-
Which is not to say that the city was a racial paradise.—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Noun
-
As a dissident, Limonov didn’t find New York to be some immigrant heaven, but rather a cutthroat town where the Upper West Side socialites were as disaffected and atrophied as Politburo members.—
Ed Simon
June 23,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
-
While there will be emphasis on families and domestic lives, the dazzling configurations taking place in the heavens above could even mark a period where past-life connections return to bring potential radiance and good news.—
Kyle Thomas,
People.com,
22 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Empyrean.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/empyrean. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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